Prison Town
by miss37
Summary: Mac is retired from the crime lab, but when he is hired by a billionaire as a private investigator to find out what happened to her daughter, he finds a much bigger problem than he anticipated. "This story was published before and was taken off a while".
1. Chapter 1

**Prison Town**

He had retired from the New York crime lab. He had seen all the dead bodies that he wanted to see for a while. He sometimes consulted with the police department and helped a little here and there but he did not want the stress anymore. He wanted to move on with life and do something else. He was not sure what he actually wanted to do but it was going to be something different.

Mac Taylor was shaving. It was morning and he was about to go out for his morning run but he liked to have a shower first and feel clean. He finished shaving and got into his running pants, t-shirt and jacket. It was always cool in the morning in New York. He had thought he might move from the city eventually but he had not done it yet. It had only been two months since he retired. He went out the door and locked it.

As Mac was walking out of his apartment building, there was a limousine parked out front. He was a little surprised to see it sitting there but he thought nothing of it. He stretched a little and was about to start his run but someone said "Detective Taylor."

Mac looked around but there was no one standing around him. He had not been called "Detective" in about two months. "Detective Taylor," the voice said again.

Mac looked toward the limousine and the window was down halfway. "Yes, come this way," the female voice said.

Mac scowled but he moved over closer to the limousine. "Who are you?" he asked.

The woman opened the door. Mac saw an old woman in the car who looked like she could very well afford a limousine. She had gray hair that looked like there was not a hair out of place and light blue eyes and Mac was sure she did not look her age. She was wearing very expensive looking jewelry. "Can I give you a lift?" she asked.

Mac stared at her a moment. "I don't usually accept rides from strangers," he said.

"Oh, come now, Detective…"

"And I'm not a detective anymore. I'm retired."

"Once a detective, always a detective. I would like to talk to you, Detective Taylor."

Mac was a little confused. "I was about to go for my morning run," he said.

"Well, I'm not dressed for sports. Would you come for a ride with me? I have a proposition for you."

Mac considered that. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Angela Lordsbury."

Mac thought about that. He realized he was talking to a billionaire. "What could you possibly want to talk to me about?"

"If you'll come with me, I'll tell you."

Mac looked around him and then at Mrs. Lordsbury again. He did not really want to go but she seemed anxious to talk to him about something. "Please, Detective," she said. "It will be worth your while."

Mac knew about this woman. She was one of the richest people in New York. He walked over and got into the limousine. He had to admit it had been a long time since he had been in a limousine. "Thank you for coming, Detective," Angela said.

"I'm not a detective anymore," Mac said. "I'm retired."

"Yes, but you still have your skills which is what I need."

Mac scowled. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

Angela gave him a picture of a young blond woman. "That is my daughter, Teresa," she said. "I want you to find her killer."

Mac looked at her. "I'm sure the police are doing everything they…"

"You don't understand, Detective Taylor. Let me finish…she doesn't live here. She lives in a small town out in Colorado where the sheriff is as crooked…or maybe more crooked than the people he puts in jail."

Mac stared at her a moment. "What are you getting at?"

"They ruled her death a suicide," Angela said. "That is not so. Teresa would never have killed herself. She was a happy young woman, but more than that, she was devoted to God and to nature. She would never have killed herself. She had called me not long ago and told me that she thought she wanted to come home and I just thought that was strange. She wanted to live in a small town in the mountains because she loved nature so much. She wanted to live as naturally as possible and she did." Angela leaned back on the seat. "She stumbled onto something over there, Detective Taylor and someone killed her for it."

Mac looked at the picture. "Mrs. Lordsbury, there are a lot of private detectives out there that you can hire," he said. "Why me?"

"Because you are the best. They do not have your perception or your caring. I have seen you many times, Detective Taylor. I have read about you and now I need your help."

"There's one problem," Mac said. "I am not a licensed private detective. There are laws in this state."

"But you don't have to have a license in Colorado," Angela pointed out.

Mac scowled. "But I don't live in Colorado. I live here and you have to take a test and…"

"Detective Taylor. You are a detective, although you're retired. You still have your license as a detective."

Mac had to admit she was right. "I'm trying to enjoy my retirement, Ma'am," he said. "I don't want to do this work anymore, especially now."

"Detective, I am prepared to pay all your expenses and I will pay you one million dollars for solving this for me."

Mac tried to keep his mouth from dropping open. He swallowed and cleared his throat. "One million dollars?"

"Yes. No price is too big for my daughter and as you know, I have a deep pocketbook."

Mac blew out a breath. "As much as I would like to help you, Ma'am, I would not know where to start."

"You would have to go out to this town in Colorado and start there. Believe me, you will be well cared for." Angela took out a card and held it out to Mac.

Mac took it and looked at it. "That card has an unlimited credit limit," Angela said. "You can use it while you are on this case. Whatever you need."

Mac shook his head. "You make this sound easy," he said. "If your daughter was murdered, there could be some very dangerous people involved."

"What do you need? Weapons?"

"I have weapons but I would need someone else to help me."

"So get someone. You can use the card for whatever the two of you need and I will pay him…or her, too."

"I'm not sure he would agree," Mac said.

"Only one way to find out."

Mac could not believe this but he realized he had been chomping at the bit. He might be retired but he still had a detective mind and he wondered about this. He had heard of these towns that time forgot and the sheriff ran the town as though it were his own. Mac leaned back on the seat and thought. Did he really want to get into something like this? Could he solve something like this? He knew how those towns were. Everyone knew everyone and no one talked. He supposed he could go over there and become part of the scenery…maybe Angela would buy him a spread there.

"How much are you willing to spend on this?" Mac asked.

"Detective Taylor, I am a billionaire. I can spend a lot. What did you have in mind?"

"If I bought a place there, I might have a better chance of getting to know the people there."

"Do you need cash?"

"It might look more realistic if I bought the place on credit like anyone else would. You know, make a big down payment."

"Right. Do you need the money in your account?"

Mac considered that. He was not a pauper by any means and he had excellent credit. After all, he had not spent much money in the last several years and he had accumulated quite a nest egg. "It would help if the money was there so that I could look like someone who is just moving there," he said.

"I had my daughter's body brought back to New York," Angela said. "I didn't want her buried out there."

Mac looked at Angela. "So you want me to get the ME here to examine her," he said.

"Yes."

"But if they can prove that she did not commit suicide, that would bring more laws in and you could have the police there get into this," Mac said.

"You're missing my point. They won't do it because they're all connected. I want you to find out what happened to my daughter, Detective."

Mac thought a moment. "Okay," he said. "I'll get Sid Hammerback to look at the body and if he finds that she was murdered, I'll take this case. It will take some time but the older this case gets, the harder it will be to solve."

"Just don't let it run cold, Detective Taylor. I loved my daughter. Even though she didn't want to live here and be glamorous, I was proud of her. She was beautiful and happy and I could not be against what she was doing because it made her happy. She didn't want my money, only what I paid for her college. She owned a greenhouse out there. She loved plants and she could grow the most beautiful ones you ever saw. She was a horticulturalist and she used that talent. She didn't deserve to be murdered, Detective."

"No one does, Ma'am. I will get back to you."

Angela pressed a button beside her. "Donnie, take us back to Detective Taylor's apartment," she said.

"Yes, Ma'am," a voice said through the speaker.

Mac put the credit card in his wallet and looked at Angela. "I'm sorry about your daughter," he said. "But you have to realize that no matter how happy someone seems or how good they seem, they could be hiding something. I hope that I don't find anything unpleasant but if I do…"

"Don't worry about that, Detective. I just want you to find out what happened to my daughter…no matter what it is."

Mac nodded. The limo stopped and he opened the door. "I'll see you, Ma'am," he said and closed the door. He blew out a breath as the limousine pulled away. He could not believe this. How did he get mixed up in this? He stretched a little and then went on with his morning run. He thought better when he was running. He knew how some of these cases turned out and he knew about those towns. However, he did not know what to expect when he got there. What if they figured him out right away? People always told him that he looked like a cop. He was not near as intense as he had been when he was running the crime lab. He had gotten a little lazy since he retired. He actually lay on the couch and watched TV sometimes.

Mac arrived at his favorite diner and went inside. To his surprise, Jo Danville was at the counter. "Well, hello, stranger," she said.

"Morning," Mac replied with a smile.

Jo hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "How are you this morning?" she asked.

"Fine," Mac replied. He sat down on a stool at the counter. "What are you doing out here this morning?"

"I knew you'd be here so I thought I'd drop in and see you. Are you enjoying your retirement?"

"Yes, I am." Mac nodded to the waitress as she brought him an orange juice. He sipped it. "I'm, uh, going on a trip soon."

"Oh, that must be nice to go whenever you want," Jo said. "Where are you going?"

"Colorado."

Jo scowled. "Colorado? Are you going to ski?"

Mac smiled. "No. I'm going to see the mountains." He was not sure he wanted to let Jo know everything that was going on.

Jo stared at him a moment in that way she did when she knew something was up. "What are you really going for?" she asked. "Have you got a woman out there?"

Mac rolled his eyes. "No, I don't. When would I have time to have a woman all the way out there?"

"Oh, I don't know. You've been retired for two months. A man can do a lot in that length of time."

Mac leaned on the counter as he ordered his breakfast. He looked at Jo. "Well, I have done as little as possible in the last two months," he said. "I have been quite lazy."

"So what are your plans?"

Mac drank some of his orange juice. "I don't know yet," he said referring to his plans for his life. "I think I might move away into a quieter place."

Jo looked down at her plate. "I would miss you if you did," she said.

Mac looked at her. "We could stay in touch by email, text, phone."

Jo looked at him. "That is not the same thing as having a warm friend who can hug you and laugh with you."

Mac sighed. "Jo, we've talked about this before and I just don't think it's a good idea for us to date," he said. "I think of you as a friend…not like that."

"But you could. It's not like we're kin or something."

"Jo, I don't want to get something like that started because I don't intend to stay here."

Jo looked at him. "But what if I wanted to go with you?" she asked.

"You have children who don't need to be dragged all over the country."

"Mac, my children are almost grown. I'm going to be alone when Ellie goes away to college. After all, she's already fourteen. Four years will go by so fast we won't know we have even been in them."

Mac nodded. "I know, Jo but I don't intend to stay around here for four years."

Jo touched his hand. "Will you at least not forget me? I might come looking for you."

Mac looked at her. "I could never forget you, Jo."

"That's good to know. I want to give you something else to remember." Jo leaned over and kissed him before he could protest.

Mac stared at her a moment. "I'm sure I won't forget that either," he said.

Jo narrowed her eyes at him. "You surprise me sometimes," she said.

Mac smiled. "I'm full of surprises."

Jo looked at her watch. "I have to get going to the office." She looked at Mac and touched his face.

Mac thought she would say something but she went on and left. He watched her walk away. The waitress brought his food and he began to eat. Then he thought about the case he was about to take on. He supposed he could take freelance jobs like that sometimes. People needed private investigators quite often and he supposed he could do some good and it would give him extra money, plus he did not have to answer to anyone.


	2. Chapter 2

Mac thought about the mission he would embark on the rest of the day. He decided that he would take it but he would take it alone. He had thought of asking Don Flack if he wanted to go but he decided that it would be better if he was the only one who went. It would look more believable if he just pretended to be someone who was looking to start ranching over there and he would be able to quietly investigate the situation. He did not intend to make a big stink over there. He would find out what was going on and he would report it to the FBI and then they could take care of it.

Mac sat at a restaurant to eat dinner while he thought about what he was about to do. He had not investigated a crime in two months. He thought maybe he should tell Jo what he was about to do but he did not want her involved in what he was doing. He did not know how long he would be over there and he thought that he might decide to stay. He was sure it would be more peaceful there than here…not that he did not love New York. It was a small town, but the sheriff ran the town like it was his own. He would have to discourage him from doing that before he decided to stay there. He thought about what it would be like to have a ranch. It would be nice and he could have anything he wanted because Mrs. Lordsbury was willing to help him be totally comfortable for finding out what happened to her daughter. He thought about that. This was not about money, it was about a young woman who might have been murdered for something she knew. Mac could not imagine what it could be but he knew how some small towns were. On the outside, it looked like a paradise, but on the inside it was chaos.

As Mac was eating, he saw Jo and Ellie come in. He looked down at his plate. He did not want to discuss his plans with Jo. He was hoping that she would not see him but he might as well have had a red light flashing on his head because she came over to his table. "Well, hi," she said. "This is twice today."

Mac looked up at her. "Hi," he replied. "What are you two up to?"

"Well, what do you think? We're in a restaurant."

Mac smiled at Jo's sarcasm. "Have a seat. I'm almost done."

Jo and Ellie sat down across from him at the table. "Mom, I thought this was supposed to be our time alone," Ellie said.

"I'll be going in a few minutes," Mac said. "I'm almost finished."

"Don't rush," Jo said. She looked at Ellie. "That is just rude, Ellie. Mac is about to go on a trip and we might not see him for a long time." She looked at Mac. "Not that I have been seeing him much."

Mac felt like a heel. He tried to hurry and eat. "I don't mean to ruin your evening," he said.

"It's not your fault," Ellie said. "Mom is the one who came over here and invaded your table."

Mac did not say anything to that. He thought Ellie must be having a bad night and needed to talk to her mother. Jo was incredulous. "Ellie, what has come over you?" she asked.

"I want time alone with you, Mom," Ellie replied.

"Maybe you should just take your own table," Mac suggested. "We can talk some other time."

"I suppose," Jo agreed. "I'm sorry for 'invading' your table."

Mac smiled. "You didn't."

Jo and Ellie stood up. "I'm sorry for being rude, Mac," Ellie said.

Mac looked at her. "No need to apologize. Everybody needs time alone with their mother sometimes."

Jo and Ellie left the table. Mac blew out a breath. He was glad he did not have to hear that conversation. He wondered what it would be like to be a parent. He should have had children with Claire but he was too stupid. That was what he thought about that…he was just plain stupid. She had wanted to have children and he should have had them. He had not thought he would be a good father but Claire would have helped him be a good one. But it was too late now. He could not go back and change the past.

When Mac was done eating, he got up to leave. He looked for Jo and Ellie and waved to them. They both smiled and he went on out. He decided to just walk home to think about what he was about to do. He knew it would not be an easy situation. If that girl was murdered, the people who committed that murder and who covered it up would not take it lightly if someone came over there snooping around. If they killed one person who was one of their own, they would not think twice about killing him. He would have to drive there so that he could take everything with him…not that he had a whole lot of stuff to take. He would have to go over there and "visit" first and then move into his new place. He wondered if there would be any ranches for sale there. Maybe he could even get Teresa Lordsbury's place. He had no idea where she had stayed there or what had happened to it since. Her mother had said she did not want her to help her and she wanted to make her own way so he thought maybe she did not have a big spread out there although she had a greenhouse that she worked in and sold her plants. He would have to talk to Mrs. Lordsbury about that.

When Mac got home, he called Mrs. Lordsbury. Of course she did not answer the phone so he waited for her to come to the phone. "Hello," she answered.

"Mrs. Lordsbury, this is Mac Taylor. I need to ask you some questions."

"Go right ahead. Have you decided to take my offer?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I just want to know what happened to Teresa's place after she died."

"I paid it off and it has been closed up and I have a caretaker there to take care of it until this is over."

"What kind of place did she have?"

"She had her small house and her greenhouse. Her house has solar panels and so does the green house."

"Maybe I could stay there until my place is built."

Angela considered that. "You would have to make it seem that you had just seen it and wanted to buy it. I suppose I could put it up for sale. Do you intend to buy land and build a ranch?"

"I don't want you to think that I'm taking advantage of…"

"You might as well take advantage of this opportunity. Don't worry about anything. I intend to make sure you are well cared for. You are investigating the death of my precious daughter and that is something that is very important to me."

"Yes, Ma'am. Well, I thought it would look more real if I bought some land and built a ranch."

"You are right. You could tell them that you need a temporary place to stay."

"Right."

Mac thought a moment. "Did Teresa every mention any friends she had there?" he asked.

"Teresa was one of those people who mostly kept to herself and who wanted to be friends with everyone there. But there was this one woman who she mentioned quite often. Her name was Maria Norris. She loved plants almost as much as Teresa did and she bought a lot of plants from Teresa."

Mac wrote that down. "I need all the information I can get so that I will know who my allies might be," he said.

"Yes. She mentioned several people. There was a guy named Ryan Cordell. I think Teresa was just a little sweet on him. I am not sure they were seeing each other but she liked the guy and he had a friend named Bruce Martin. Teresa knew them quite well. I think they all went out together a lot."

Mac wrote those names down. He would have to meet these people. "Where do these people work?" he asked.

"Maria works in the dress shop there on Main Street. She sews specially made dresses for people there. She is quite talented from what I heard. She makes quilts and other things as well."

Mac wrote that down. He had not heard of a dressmaker in quite a long time. He knew someone had to sew clothes but he did not know of anyone who did it this way. "I'll have to meet her."

"She was older than Teresa. She is probably in her mid thirties. It is quite a peaceful town from all appearances but we know that is not true."

"Yes, Ma'am. What about Ryan and Bruce? What do they do?"

"Ryan works in a lumber mill out there and Bruce works in a paper mill."

Mac grimaced at that. He could not imagine working in a paper mill. It stunk bad enough when one was just smelling it from the outside but if one were working inside it…

"That is about all I know, Detective Taylor."

"Thanks. It's a good start at knowing what I am going into. Do you know the sheriff's name?"

"Oh yes. I met that pompous fool when I went over there. His name is John Gillespie. He thinks he is in charge, if you know what I mean."

"Yes, I know what you mean."

"You have to watch him. He has four deputies there. That's how small the town is. I don't know how the deputies feel about the situation. Surely they are not all crooked."

"I'm sure he would make sure he was surrounded by people who will take up for him and help him in his efforts."

"You are probably right."

"The ME here is already doing the autopsy on your daughter. He will determine if your daughter could have killed her own self or not. Since she was shot in the head, he will determine if she could have inflicted that wound on herself at that angle."

"Yes. I want to know the findings."

"I will let you know and you can have the autopsy report if you want it."

"I don't know, Detective. This is my daughter we're talking about."

"Yes, Ma'am, and I'm sorry about this. We will find out what happened to her."

"Thank you, and you be careful too."

Mac ended the call and looked out the window. He would have to pretend that he was there to find a place to live and then he would come back to New York to pick up his stuff. That would be a long drive…he supposed he could hire movers and let them transport all his stuff. He did not have that much. He could go on a plane and not worry about driving all the way out there. He supposed it was settled now…he was going to Colorado.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Mac was up very early preparing for his flight to Colorado. His plane would land in Colorado Springs but he would have to drive the rest of the way to the town he was going to. It was a very small town of about 1500 people and it was a farm and ranch area. While most of the state was full of mountains, there were areas in the Eastern part of the state that had great farm land. He had read some about this town and learned that it had some oil industry there, along with ranching and cattle herds and that it was very close-knit. He thought it must have a lot of rich people living there and they just controlled the town along with the sheriff.

Mac packed up everything that he would need for a week if he decided to stay that long. He looked at his watch and it was only 430 a.m. His flight left at 7 a.m., so he thought he better go ahead to the airport so he could get through security and all that. It took a while to get through all that. He could not take any weapons with him this time so he would have to keep his mission quiet. He did not want to stir up any trouble over there until he was prepared for trouble. He was not sure he should change his name or not but he hated changing his name. He was sure that sheriff would check into his background and see who he was. That was his worst problem…the sheriff had a line out to whatever he wanted on someone.

Mac's flight lifted off at approximately 7:00. He was surprised that it was not late. By the time he got to Colorado, it would be 10 a.m. here in New York, but it would be 8 a.m. He would have two extra hours in this day.

When Mac's flight landed, he was tired. He had the rest of the day to drive to the town but he dreaded that long drive through mountains and all. He had to do it though…unless he took a bus. He wondered if a bus even stopped in a small town like that. He might not be able to get a rental car if he did not get one there in Colorado Springs. He walked out of the airport and was amazed at the view there. The mountains were beautiful and the air was fresh. He knew Fall would be coming soon and it would get very cold in the mountains. He wanted to get settled in before that happened.

Mac went over to the car rental and got an SUV so that it would be rugged enough to make it through those mountains. He got a map and studied it to see where Pumpkin Flat was. It was in the Eastern part of the state and was a very small town. He was surprised that it was even on the map. He wondered how Teresa Lordsbury discovered that town. Did she just look at the map and pick a town? He supposed it was as good as any other way if you have never been to a place.

Mac got his car and headed out on Highway 94. To his surprised, there were not too many really high mountains out that way, but mountains nonetheless. He turned the radio on to a local station that was playing Country music. He had not sat and listened to music in a very long time. He had played music a lot at times but he never just listened. It was relaxing. He yawned as he was driving and wondered if he should turn the music off but then a loud, fast song came on and he did not think he would be falling asleep with that one playing.

By that afternoon, Mac came to the small town he was looking for. He even had to travel on a dirt road part of the time but most of the roads were paved. When he got into the town, he could tell it was definitely a place that time forgot. There were small stores and gas stations, fruit and vegetable stands. He thought he might like to get some of those fresh vegetables and fruits. They were better than things that had been frozen or kept in cold storage.

Mac saw a sign that said "Maria's Dress Shop and Beauty Parlor". He thought he might need a haircut but he wanted to get into this town somehow. As he drove along, people watched as he went by, most likely knowing that he was a stranger. He waved at some of them and some waved back while others just stared wondering who he was. There was a Diner at the other end of the street called "The Mountain View Diner". Mac thought that would be a good place to start because he was hungry anyway. He smiled at the small parking lot at the Diner which had some potholes at the entrance. He found a parking space and parked. He got out of the car and had to stretch. He felt stiff from all that traveling. He hoped they had something good in this restaurant.

As Mac walked into the restaurant, everyone inside looked up to see who came in. They all stared at him a moment but then went back to their eating. There were only about 5 people in the place. There was a woman behind the counter. She smiled at Mac. "Howdy," she said. "Just have a seat, Sugar and I'll be right with you. The menu's on the table."

Mac looked around the restaurant and chose a booth in the corner. Soon the waitress came to his table and brought salt and pepper shakers and a bottle of ketchup. "So, what'll you have?" she asked.

Mac looked at her. "Uhm, I haven't really decided yet," he said.

"You here for a while?"

"Yes, I was looking to build a ranch. Are there any places around here for sale?"

"You would have to go over to the bank of the realtor's office to find that out." She offered her hand. "My name is Mandy."

"Mac."

"Well, Mac, welcome to Pumpkin Flat. It's a small town, but it's friendly."

Mac nodded. "I was looking for a small town."

"What made you choose this one?"

"Oh, I just looked at the map and chose one and I decided to come here and see what it's like."

"I guess that's a good way to find one."

Mac looked at the menu a moment. "I think I'll have the…"

Just then, the bell on the door clanged as someone came in. "Howdy Miss Mandy," the sheriff said as he came in. He glanced at Mac and then moved on to a table.

"Howdy, sheriff," Mandy said. She turned back to Mac and he noticed that she rolled her eyes and her smile faded.

Mandy hoped that Mac would move here and be a man who would stand up to that rotten sheriff who thought he could have anything he wanted and any woman he wanted. She had been fighting him off since she was old enough to be what he called "available".

"I think I'll have the hamburger casserole," Mac said.

"Okay," Mandy said and wrote that down. "Coming right up."

Mac made a mental note of Mandy's obvious contempt for the sheriff. He would have to see if she could be an ally to him. She did not seem to like the sheriff. He looked at the sheriff who was staring right at him with hard, blue eyes. "Where you from?" the sheriff asked.

"Chicago," Mac replied. "I'm looking to start ranching."

"A city boy?"

"Well, my parents and my grandparents had farms and I'm looking for a slower pace of life."

The sheriff walked over to Mac's table and shook his hand. "I'm Sheriff Gillespie," he said.

"Mac Taylor."

"So what do you do for a living?"

"I'm retired."

"You look young to be retired."

"Well, I was a police officer for a number of years and I decided it was time to do something else."

The sheriff stared at him a moment. "Police officer, huh?"

"Yes."

"And you just decided one day that you wanted to start ranching and you wanted to move here?"

"I guess you could see it that way. Can't very well ranch in New York."

"I thought you said you were from Chicago."

"I am, but I lived in New York and worked a long time."

"New York, huh."

"Yes."

"So what kind of ranch are you looking for?"

"I thought I would find a small place to live here while I have my ranch house built. I thought I would buy a piece of land and build from the ground up."

"That might take a long time."

"That's why I need a place to live until it's ready. You know of any places?"

Gillespie stared at Mac a moment. "Well, there is the Lordsbury place," he said. "The owner of that committed suicide not too long ago. If her mother would sell it…but she has not put it up for sale."

"Lordsbury, huh?"

"Yes. The girl's name was Teresa. She owned a greenhouse here and sold some beautiful plants but one day she just blew her brains out."

"Nobody knows why?" Mac asked.

"No. She kinda kept to herself."

"Well, I would like to see her place."

"I don't have any access to it. Her mother is a billionaire who lives in New York and…" Gillespie stared at Mac a moment. "You're from New York?"

"No, Chicago. I worked in New York."

"A police officer."

Mac thought the sheriff was getting suspicious. He had talked too much about it. "Like I said, I'm retired and I want to find something else to do in life," he said. "Is there something wrong?"

Gillespie sat up from leaning on the table. "No, no, there's nothing wrong with that," he said. "Just curious about new people around here."

"Well, I intend to be a law abiding citizen."

"I would imagine you would be one of the best."

Gillespie stood up. "Well, nice to meet you, Taylor," he said. "Just let me know if I can help you."

"Is there a hotel here in town?" Mac asked.

"No, but Mrs. Campbell down there might let you rent a room. She rents a room out sometimes for extra money."

Mac nodded. "Thanks."

Gillespie went back to his table. Mac looked out the window. He knew something was going on around here. He could tell that just by that conversation he had with the sheriff. That sheriff was afraid he would uncover something. He had turned that back on him though when he asked him if there was something wrong. He knew the sheriff must know everything that went on in this town. He would have to be very careful because that sheriff was also intelligent.

Soon, Mandy brought Mac's meal. "Anything else?" she asked. "You want some coffee? I keep it fresh."

"Sure," Mac replied. "But bring me a Pepsi too."

"Coming right up."

Mandy went back to the counter wishing that the sheriff was not there so that she could talk to Mac more. She would like to know if he was here to find out what was going on. She had overheard part of that conversation. Mac had been a police officer. He must be suspicious.

Mac took a bite of the hamburger casserole which was very good. He looked out the window as he chewed. He thought this might take a long time. He would talk to Mrs. Lordsbury and tell her that the sheriff had suggested the place to him. They would have to figure out how to do that without looking like they knew each other. Mac thought maybe he would go over to the bank or the realtor and see if they could contact her. That would make it look more real.

When Mac was done eating, he started out of the restaurant and almost ran into a woman as he was not looking where he was going. "Excuse me," he said.

The woman smiled. "Hi," she said.

Mac stared at her a moment. She had long, wavy, blonde hair and light blue eyes. "Uhm, I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's okay. I don't usually run into such handsome men."

Mac was at a loss for words. What was wrong with him? He just went on out the door as he looked into her blue eyes. He got out the door and then blew out a breath. He had to get his mind on what he was doing. He went on to his car and found himself wondering who that woman was. He supposed he would find out later on. He drove on down the street until he came to the bank. He walked in and told the banker that he wanted to buy a piece of land and that the sheriff had suggested some property that was owned by Teresa Lordsbury.

"Well, that property has not been put up for sale," the banker said.

"Could I see it?" Mac asked. "And could you contact her if I decided to buy it?"

"Well, I suppose I could but…"

"Good then. Where is this property?"

"You just keep going this way and it's right outside town there on the right."

Mac nodded. "Thank you. I'll be in touch."

The banker watched Mac walk out of the bank. He wondered what the sheriff thought about this stranger coming into town and wanting to settle here. He would have to find out.

Mac went back out to his car. He smiled to himself as he thought of what a stir he must be causing already. He drove on out to the place that had belonged to Teresa. It was definitely a small house but it was sufficient and the greenhouse looked like it had been well cared for, although grass and weeds were growing up around the place now. It could definitely be cleaned up.

Just then, someone drove up in a pickup. "Hey, what you doing out here?" he asked.

Mac looked around at the man. "Uhm, I was told that this place could be for sale," he said. "I need it for a temporary place until I can get my ranch built."

The man walked over to him. "I'm Arnold Cummings," he said.

"Mac Taylor."

Cummings stared at him a moment. "You're that detective that Mrs. Lordsbury hired."

Mac looked at him. "Yes, why?"

"I'm the caretaker around here. I've let the place grow up a little so it will look like no one is looking after it."

Mac nodded. "She wants me to get this place until my ranch is built."

"She told me about that but I don't have any authority to sell it."

"I've been in town and I came out here to look at it."

"I hope you can figure out what is going on around here. I'll tell you this, it's something big. This town is like a closed up jar and if you open it, it's going to explode."

"Well, get ready for an explosion. Can you tell me where Mrs. Campbell lives?"

"She's the third house on the other side of town, on the left. You going to rent a room from her?"

"The sheriff said I might be able to get a room there."

"Probably. You might learn some stuff from Mrs. Campbell too."

"Thanks."

When Mac got back into town, he saw that the sheriff was standing outside the restaurant now. He watched as Mac drove by. He would have to check out this "retired" police officer. He was not sure he did not know Mrs. Lordsbury. She had plenty of money and she could pay someone. He thought she probably suspected that her daughter did not commit suicide.

Mac drove on down the street to the house that Arnold Cummings had told him about. He parked in front of the house and went up to the door. Before he could ring the doorbell, someone opened the door. "OH, my!" the old woman gasped.

"I'm sorry," Mac said. "I was told that I might rent a room here."

"Yes." The woman offered her hand. "I am Dorothy Campbell."

Mac shook her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"I have a room upstairs and it has a bathroom and you'll have access to the kitchen. Rent is one-hundred a week."

Mac nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. Can I see the room?"

"Of course."

Mac followed her up the stairs to a bedroom. It was quite a large room and it looked like it was well kept. It had a high bed with a tall head board and the carpet in the room was blue which matched the curtains and the comforter on the bed. There was a large, antique dresser in the room, which looked like it was made of Maple wood, and it had a large mirror. Mac walked into the bathroom which had a large tub and a separate shower as well as a sink cabinet. He looked at Mrs. Campbell. "I'll take it," he said.

"Well, I expect the first week's rent now," Mrs. Campbell said. "I don't take any slack."

Mac smiled. "Yes, Ma'am. I don't intend to give any."

"Good."

Mac took his wallet out and gave her a 100 dollar bill. She held it up to the light and looked at it with a magnifying glass that she had in her apron pocket. Mac was surprised. She smiled at him. "You can move in as soon as you like," she said.

"I'll bring my stuff in now," Mac said.

Mac smiled as he walked out of the house. He thought he would enjoy staying here and it would keep him close to the town until he could figure something out…


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Mac woke up to the smells of bacon. How long had it been since he smelled something like that? He sat up and realized he was really smelling it. He remembered where he was now. He lay back down and inhaled the aromas that were coming from that kitchen. He wondered if Mrs. Campbell would share some of that. If she would not, he supposed he would have to go to the diner. He did not have time to stand around cooking. But why did he not have time? He was in a small town now and no one was in a hurry. He did not have to hurry like he did when he was in New York.

Mac got up and got a shower and then got dressed in a red t-shirt and black jeans. He went downstairs and to the kitchen. Mrs. Campbell was in there. "Good morning," she said. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Mac replied.

"Well, since you're up at a decent hour, you can eat with me. The coffee is ready."

"Thank you."

Mac poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table to fix it. Mrs. Campbell looked at him. "So, where are you from, Mr. Taylor?" she asked.

"Well, I'm from Chicago but I have lived in New York a long time," Mac said. "And you can call me Mac."

Mrs. Campbell came to the table which was already set with plates and everything and she set a platter full of eggs and bacon in the center and a plate of biscuits. Mac stared at it a moment, hoping that she did not expect him to eat all that. He started to put some on his plate, but she slapped his hand. Mac was surprised but it reminded him of his grandmother as he looked into the face of Mrs. Campbell.

"We say grace first," she said.

"Yes, Ma'am," Mac replied and bowed his head.

After she said grace, they began to eat. Mac had to admit it was better than anything he had had in a very long time. "So, what are you planning to do here in Pumpkin Flat?" Mrs. Campbell asked.

"I intend to build a ranch," Mac said. "I was hoping I could buy the place that Teresa Lordsbury had. The sheriff told me about it."

Mrs. Campbell stared at Mac a moment. "Why would you want that place?"

Mac shrugged slightly. "It looks like a nice place and it has a business right there."

"You mean you would actually take that place where that poor little girl died?"

Mac looked at her. "I would pay for it if her mother wants to sell it."

"Her mother has control of it?"

"That's what the sheriff says."

Mrs. Campbell laid her fork down. "I'm going to tell you something," she said. "I don't believe that girl committed suicide. I bought flowers from her and she was always happy and seemed to be full of life, and she even told me that she was hoping to get a new extension on her greenhouse. Do people make plans like that who are planning to commit suicide?"

Mac thought this lady was paying a lot of attention. "Well, in my experience…"

"Yes, you're a retired police officer. You should know."

"It wouldn't seem that they would," Mac said. "But everyone is not alike."

"I just don't believe it. I think she was murdered because she found out what's really going on in this town."

Mac looked at her. "And what is that?" he asked.

Mrs. Campbell took another bite of her breakfast. "You will know if you stay here long enough."

Mac had thought he was getting somewhere and now he was very curious. "Can't you just give me a clue?" he asked.

"Are you here looking into her death?"

Mac was surprised by that question. "Why would I be doing that?"

"Because I think it's strange that a former police officer shows up and then starts to buy her place all of a sudden."

"But the sheriff told me about it."

"You can hold that story if you want but I think you knew about it before you ever got here."

"Why?"

Mrs. Campbell looked at him. "Because my husband was a detective and I know a detective when I see one," she said.

Mac stared at her a moment. He was not sure what to say next. "I think if you're going to take on something like this, you're going to need some allies," Mrs. Campbell said.

"And you think you would be that?" Mac asked.

"Nobody messes with me. I have a shotgun that can talk for me and they know I am not afraid to use it."

Mac shook his head. "I don't think that is the reason, Ma'am," he said. "Maybe they just respect the elderly."

"I know what goes on in this town but they think I don't know."

Mac sipped his coffee. "Well, why don't you tell me?" he asked.

"There are schemes going on in this town and they are hard to see when you're on the outside looking in, but have you noticed that there are hardly any young women in this town?"

Mac frowned. "I haven't been here long. Why?"

"The only ones who are not taken as slaves are the ones who move here as adults."

"What do you mean 'slaves'?"

"Honey, there's things going on around here that would even shock a detective from New York."

Mac shifted in his chair. "And where are these girls held?" he asked.

"There's a big plantation about three miles out of town with high walls and a big house. You should try to visit."

Mac frowned. "Okay, and what are they slaves for? What does this have to do with the death of Teresa Lordsbury and to all these people around here know about this?"

"Some do and some don't but they would not dare tell it outside this town because there would be dire consequences." Mrs. Campbell stared at Mac a moment. "You may be just what this town needs. You need to free this town from this horror. Some of them have daughters over there and they don't say anything because they know their daughters would be killed if they do."

Mac was getting angrier by the minute. "Are you telling me that there is a plantation out here that is holding young girls as sex slaves?" he asked.

"Well, I don't think it is just for sex but that is the biggest part of it. They ship these girls around the country to wherever they are 'needed' to make money off them." Mrs. Campbell could see the anger on Mac's face now.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked.

"I don't know. My husband and I lived her all our lives and this was a peaceful town until this sheriff took over about ten years ago. He has just gradually taken control. That's the way they always do it, isn't it? They do it little by little so no one suspects and finally they're a dictator."

Mac nodded. "I suppose. You can't take people's freedom all at once like that or they will rebel but you do it gradually and they're trapped before they realize it."

"Exactly. That's how it happened."

"And why didn't anyone talk and tell this to the FBI?"

"They couldn't have proven it."

"There are ways."

"But they would have killed those girls or they would have moved them. They always know what is going on."

"How many girls are we talking about?" Mac asked.

"I don't even know, Detective."

Mac looked at her. "Don't call me that. If someone heard it, I won't be able to help you."

"I'm sorry."

"What about Maria Norris?" Mac asked. "Do you know her?"

"A sweet young woman. She moved her about four years ago. She was not involved in any of this and may not even know about it."

"What about Ryan Cordell and Bruce Martin?"

"They were Teresa's friends. They all went out there to that church at the edge of town in the opposite direction of that plantation. I don't know if they know about it or not. They were shocked when Teresa committed suicide too."

"Do you know where they live?"

"Bruce lives down there in the apartment complex and Ryan lives in his parents' guest house outside town."

Mac was shocked about this whole situation but he knew how touchy these situations could be. "Well, I think I need a haircut," he said as he stood up from the table. "Thank you very much for the breakfast."

Mrs. Campbell smiled at him. "You're welcome," she said. "I think a haircut would suit you just fine."

Mac smiled and walked out of the house. He did not know how to feel in this town now. He walked down the street pretending to just stroll. How many people knew about this horror in this town? How did the sheriff get away with this? How did he get this started? It was too many unanswered questions for his detective mind but the important thing was to find out what was going on and figure out how to stop it…and he would stop it.

Mac soon came to the beauty parlor. He had not seen a barber shop in the town so he supposed he would have to go in here to get his hair cut anyway. He went in and was shocked to see who was there. "Well, hi," she said.

It was the woman he had met at the diner. He stared at her a moment. What was it about this woman? He lost his voice around her and he thought he just wanted to stare at her. "Hi," he finally managed to say. "I, uhm, need a haircut."

"Well, you've come to the right place. Come this way."

Mac followed her and secretly wondered if he could stand this woman having her hands on him. He thought he was more attracted to her than he had been to anyone in a very long time. She led him into the salon area and over to the sink. He did not usually have his hair washed but he would today. He leaned back on the sink. "So, what is your name?" Maria asked.

"Mac Taylor."

"Nice name. Where are you from?"

"I have been living in New York but I am from Chicago."

"Are you planning to settle here?"

Mac considered that. He thought he wanted to stay here after he got this mess straightened out…and maybe they would even want a new sheriff. He would have his ranch. "Yes," he said. "I am going to build a ranch and settle here."

"Are you married?"

"No. My wife died…a long time ago."

Maria was silent a few moments. She had a mutual attraction to Mac. She had thought her heart had turned a flip when she ran into him at the diner. Those intense green eyes and…well, everything else that went with it. She did not even know the man. She did not usually fall for someone before she even talked to them. "I have never been married," she said. "My name is Maria…I guess you guessed that."

"It crossed my mind," Mac said.

Maria smiled as she looked down into Mac's face. Maybe he was the man she had been waiting for all these years. And here he was, about to start a ranch and settle here. Could she ask for anything better than that? "So, what did you do in New York?" she asked.

"I am a retired police officer."

"Wow. In New York?"

"Yes." Mac wanted to let her know who he really was but he had to make sure he could really trust her before he let her know all that. He wanted to get to know her better.

When Maria was done washing his hair, he moved over to the barber chair. He had never had his hair cut by a woman before. He had lived in places that had barbers for men. "Do you cut a lot of men's hair?" he asked.

"Well, I'm the only beautician in town, so I cut just about everyone's hair."

"Must be nice. If everyone in town looks good, everyone knows you are a good hair stylist."

Maria laughed. "I suppose." She thought she had laughed too loudly at that because she was nervous. When she went to get her scissors, she took a deep breath and blew it out slowly to try and curb her nerves.

Mac sat and thought he could go to sleep with her cutting his hair. "It seems peaceful here in this town," he said.

"Most of the time it is," Maria replied.

"I heard about a woman named Teresa Lordsbury who owned a greenhouse. I was thinking about buying her place and staying there until my ranch is built…or renting it."

Maria stared at him a moment. "Teresa was my friend," she said.

Mac looked at her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"No. You didn't do anything. I just have a hard time believing that she committed suicide. When that mortician said that, I didn't believe it."

"You were close to her?"

"Yes. She was not the kind of person who would commit suicide."

"That's what I heard from Mrs. Campbell. The sheriff said her mother believes that too."

Just then, a woman walked in. "Maria, can you cut my hair?" she asked.

"Sure can," Maria replied. "As soon as I'm done with him."

"I'll wait."

Mac was disappointed. He had thought he might get somewhere with Maria and find out some more about Teresa. "So, do you want to have dinner sometime?" he asked.

Maria stared at him a moment. "Why, yes, I would," she said. That was definitely unexpected.

"Good. We'll plan it sometime."

"How about tonight? I'm not doing a thing."

"Meet at the diner?"

"Sure."

Mac thought he would be glad to have dinner with her. He did not only want to know about Teresa, he wanted to know about Maria too.


	5. Chapter 5

Mac left the beauty salon wondering if it was a good idea to already be going out with Maria, but he did not see any reason to wait around about it. After all, she wanted to go too. He could hardly believe in love at first sight but he was beginning to wonder. He had felt stricken the first time he saw her when they ran into each other in the diner. Every small town like the one he was in now has a "back street" and this one was no different. Mac could see that the apartment complex was down there on the back street as well as a few houses and the blacksmith shop. There was also an old machine shop and an old farm equipment shop. Mac thought they must have kept all the old farm equipment that they had never sold and let it rust out there on the lot.

Mac walked out there to the back street to the apartment complex, being careful to make sure no one was watching him. He wanted to talk to Bruce Martin, but then again, they could not think that he was not back there to look for an apartment himself. He certainly was not going to keep living with Mrs. Campbell for the whole time he lived here, not that he did not like her. He just wanted a place of his own. He walked over to the complex and found the landlord's apartment.

A man came to the door who had red hair and blue eyes. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Do you have any vacant apartments?" Mac asked.

"Yes I do. I have four that are not occupied. You interested?"

"Sure," Mac said. "I might stay in one for a month or two if I can't get the property I am wanting soon."

"And what property is that?"

"It has a green house on it and I thought I might just open that business again. I'm pretty good with flowers myself."

The man stared at him a moment. "Well, I'm Lawrence Roberts," he said.

"Mac Taylor."

"Oh, I've already heard of you. You're new in town. Folks said you were looking to build a ranch."

Mac could hardly believe everyone in town already knew he was here. "Yes, I am," he said. "I want to retire out here and enjoy the quiet."

"It's pretty peaceful here." The man folded his arms and looked around them and then at Mac. "What did you retire from?" he asked quietly.

Mac scowled and looked around them. "I was a police officer in New York."

The man stared at him a moment. "I think I have just the perfect apartment for you," he said. He closed his door. "Follow me."

Mac was surprised by that action but he followed the man. He led him to an apartment on the back of the complex. "This is the best apartment I have," Roberts said as he was unlocking the door. "It has a great view of the mountains out there."

"That's great," Mac said, still unsure of what was really going on.

They went into the apartment and to Mac's surprise, it was very roomy. He stood there a moment and stared at it. "This is very nice," he commented. "What is the rent per month?"

The landlord closed the door and walked over to the picture window and opened the curtains. "See that view?" he asked. "You won't get that anywhere else in town. If you buy your own ranch, you might."

Mac had to admit the view was beautiful. He could see the mountains and the rolling of the land. "That is very beautiful," he said. He looked at Mr. Roberts. "How much?"

"Six hundred a month," Roberts said looking nervous.

Mac was surprised. He had paid more than twice that in New York. "I'll take it," he said.

"You will?"

Mac thought that sounded a little too happy. He wondered what was going on. He looked at Roberts. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing is wrong," Roberts replied.

"Well, you seem a little nervous. Is there something going on?"

"No, sir, I'm just glad that you like the apartment. I've been trying to rent it for months."

"Oh."

Mac was not sure that was a completely honest answer but he figured it was all he would get right now. He walked into the kitchen area and it was just a beautiful as the front room. The bathroom was nice and the bedroom was very roomy as well with a walk-in closet. He was surprised to find something like this in such a small town. "I won't be moving in today," he said. "I have to go back to New York after I secure my land for my ranch and then I will move here."

"That is fine. You just move in when you get ready. I will make sure it is here for you," Roberts said.

"Thank you."

They shook hands and walked to the door. "I'll talk to you soon, Mr. Roberts," Mac said.

"You can call me Lawrence."

"Lawrence, it is nice meeting you." Mac walked away. He knew something was going on in this town and he thought there were a lot of people who wanted to talk and they were afraid. He was angry about that as he walked out of the apartment building. He did not like people being held hostage in their own town, their own homes. He would stop this.

As Mac was about to cross the side street back to the main town when he heard someone say "Hey, Mac!"

Mac looked around to see Maria coming that way. Her blond hair glistened in the sun and bounced as she jogged over to him. "Hi," she said. "Where you going?"

Mac stared at her a moment thinking that she was even more beautiful in the sun than she was inside her salon. He realized she had asked him a question. "Uhm, I was just kinda exploring the town," he said.

"I live right there," Maria said and pointed to a small white house close to the apartment complex.

Mac looked at the house. "That looks nice," he said.

"I think I will be free for lunch. You want to have lunch with me?"

"Sure. At the diner?"

"I was going to eat at my house today. Would you like that?"

Mac smiled and nodded. "Sure. What time?"

"Around twelve?"

"I'll be there."

Mac watched as she walked away. He had to admit she was an attractive woman. She was wearing jeans and a light blue shirt. He realized he was staring so he walked on. He blew out a breath. He thought this relationship might go somewhere fast. He hoped they could handle this spark of passion that was obviously between them.

Mac walked back around to Main Street and walked down the street until he came to the bank. He thought he might as well go in there and find out what kind of property they had for sale around these parts. He went into the bank and walked over to one of the tellers. "I need to speak to a loan officer," he said.

"Right this way, Sir," the woman said and led him to an office. "You can talk to Mr. Barton. Let me tell him you're here."

"Thank you."

Mac sat in a chair outside the office. He was always surprised at how quickly business could move in a town this small. If he were trying to get a loan in New York, he would have to make an appointment. The teller came back out and told him that he could go in to see the loan officer. Mac walked into the office and asked the banker what types of land they had in the area for sale. He told Mac about the realtor's office and told him that they had just what he was looking for and that he would give him a loan for the land and to build the house.

"Thank you," Mac said and shook the man's hand.

Mac walked out of the bank and walked down to the realtor's office. He soon found that there was plenty of land for his needs on the outside of town. It was on the opposite end of town from the alleged plantation. He had not even seen the sheriff today, and he wondered where he was. The realtor took him out to look at the land. Mac picked an area that was not too hilly but that was not in a low-lying area either. If he was going to stay here, he certainly did not want to be in danger of floods washing everything away. He knew how rains and all worked in the mountains.

Mac secured that piece of land with the realtor and the bank. He would have to decide what he wanted his house to look like now. He thought of Maria. What if he married her? What would she like? He shook his head. He could not think about that right now. She might not even like him when she got to know him. He thought maybe they were both lonely and were just infatuated with each other. He thought maybe he would let her help him plan his house as a "friend" anyway. He smiled at that. Maybe it would be what she liked if he let her help him. Then if things got serious between them later on, he could just let her move into the house.

Mac realized it was already almost twelve Noon. He certainly did not want to stand Maria up so he headed for her house. He walked around to the other street again and went over to Maria's house. He knocked on the door after he looked down at himself and made sure he looked presentable.

Maria opened the door. She smiled. "Come in," she said.

Mac went in and did not know why he felt so nervous. He looked around the living room which was decorated in red and brown. It gave the room a warm feeling. "I hope you're hungry," Maria said.

"Starved," Mac replied.

They went into the kitchen and sat at the table which Maria already had ready with plates and everything. "I made a casserole this morning before I went to the shop," she said. "I hope you like broccoli."

"I love it."

Maria dipped them both some of the casserole. As they were eating, Mac wondered if he should tell Maria who he really was. "So, how are things with you here in this small town?" Mac asked.

"I like living in a small town," Maria replied. "Although there are always some strange people."

"Strange?"

"Yes. Some people seem to try and avoid you."

"Maybe they're just shy."

"What brings you here besides a ranch?"

Mac looked at her. "What makes you think there's more?"

"Well, some people are whispering about you being a detective from New York."

Mac stared at her a moment. "I am," he said.

Maria looked surprised. "You are?"

"Yes. I was the head of the crime lab in New York City."

Maria's mouth dropped open. "And you're giving that up to live here?" she asked.

"I retired a while back. I got tired of looking at dead bodies all the time and chasing criminals. I just want something quieter."

"That's incredible."

Mac laid his fork down and looked at Maria. "I want to be honest with you," he said. "If we're starting something here, I don't want it to start out with lies."

Maria looked at him. "You mean you've been lying?" she asked.

"No. I just want you to know that there is more to my coming here than buying a ranch."

"And what's that?"

"Angela Lordsbury."

"Teresa's mother."

"Yes. She hired me to find out what happened to her daughter."

"She doesn't believe she committed suicide." Maria looked at Mac. "I don't either."

"What do you think happened?"

Maria frowned. "I don't know, but Maria started acting funny about two weeks before she died. She would be looking around like she was scared when she came into the salon when we were talking. She told me the day before she died that there was something going on in this town and it was horrible."

"So I've heard."

Maria looked at him. "You mean you know what it is?"

"I heard from Mrs. Campbell."

"Mrs. Campbell if quite a lady for seventy years old, isn't she?"

Mac smiled. "Yes, she is," he said.

Maria paused a moment. "What did Teresa find out?" she asked.

Mac looked at her. "She says that plantation out there outside town is a…a prison for girls," he said.

Maria frowned. "A prison? What do you mean?" She thought a moment. "I've noticed that some girls who were here before are gone now. People said they moved away."

Mac nodded. "People in this town are scared," he said. "Mrs. Campbell says this sheriff has control of this town."

"Well, she's right. That guy gives me the creeps. I hate it when he looks at me."

"Pay attention to your feelings. He's a dangerous man from all I hear."

"What does he do to these girls?"

"He makes money with them. I have to find out something and get some proof of this before I can report it to the FBI."

Maria considered that. "I don't know how to find out anything. I've been living here four years and I don't know what's going on. I mostly just mind my own business."

"Does the sheriff own a big ranch or anything besides that plantation?" Mac asked.

"I don't know."

"What about Ryan Cordell or Bruce Martin?"

"They are good friends," Maria said. "They were friends to Teresa too. I always thought Ryan and Teresa might get married. They seemed to have an attraction to each other."

Mac swallowed. He thought that must be something that went around in this town. "Do you think Ryan and Bruce know what is going on?" he asked.

"I don't know," Maria said. "I think if Teresa had lived long enough, she would have told me about it and we would have tried to do something about it."

Mac nodded. He took another bite of his food which was very good. "This is very good," he said.

Maria smiled. "Thank you," she said. "I'm glad you like it. I like to just fix a casserole and eat it for a day or two…since it's just me, you know."

Mac nodded. "I don't blame you."

When they were done eating, they went to the door. "The meal was delicious," Mac said.

"I'm glad you liked it," Maria replied. "And I'm glad you're trying to figure out what happened to Teresa."

Mac did not know why, but he felt incredibly nervous with Maria so close to him. He fumbled with the door knob as he was backed up to the door facing. "I guess I should turn around to get the door open," he said feeling stupid and clumsy.

Maria walked closer to him as his back was against the door facing now. "What are we going to do about this attraction between us?" she asked.

Mac swallowed hard and he thought it was incredibly loud in this quiet house. "What do you want to do about it?" he asked.

Maria moved to kiss him. When their lips met, Mac felt like fireworks went off in his brain. He plunged his hands into her soft blond hair and held that kiss for a moment. Then they looked at each other. "Wow," Maria said.

Mac did not think he could say anything. "Are we still on for tonight?" he asked as his heart was pounding.

"Yes."

Mac wanted to kiss her again but he thought that might be rude. "I'll see you then," he said. He fumbled with the knob again and finally got out the door as Maria was smiling at him.

"Good bye, Mac," she said with a little wave.

"Bye." Mac almost stumbled on the doorstep but he managed not to fall. He blew out a breath as he got down and started walking. He thought he needed to run to get over that so he jogged back to the main road. He did not know if he needed this distraction or not but he supposed he could not do anything about it now.


	6. Chapter 6

Mac started walking instead of jogging when he got back around to the street. He wondered what was on the other back street on the other side of town. He would have to go back there and see soon. He thought the sheriff's office must be back there because he had not seen it since he had been here. There must be a sheriff's office somewhere.

Mac thought he would be glad to get all his stuff and move out here. There was a gun shop there in town. He knew he had plenty of guns and stuff but he wanted to go in there and find out what was available. As he walked in, the place smelled like gun oil and he thought he got a hint of leather too, and that was obvious because there were leather products in there. "Afternoon," the man behind the counter said. "You must be the new guy in town."

"Mac Taylor."

"Jim Yates. What can I do for you?"

"Just wanted to take a look around. Trying to get familiar with what is in the town."

"Well, we have quite a selection here. We have a lot of hunters in town. You're a retired officer?"

"Yes, I am." Mac was amazed at how word traveled through a small town.

"What kind of weapon are you looking for?"

"I suppose I will need a rifle when I get my place out there. I don't have any of those. I need some cartridges and probably a knife, but I won't be getting any of that until I move out here to my apartment. I don't really have any place that I can store a lot of stuff yet and I'll be gone a few days while I get things tied up in New York and move everything out here."

Yates leaned on the counter. "Have you talked to many people here in town?" he asked.

"Some," Mac said.

"I guess you know we had a tragedy around her not long ago."

Mac looked at him a moment. "You mean the suicide?" he asked.

"Yeah. Although a lot of people around here don't believe it was a suicide."

"And what do they believe it was?"

Jim looked around them a moment and then leaned on the counter. "Murder," he whispered. "There's a lot of whispering going on in this town."

"About what?"

Jim stood up straight. "I'm not a gossiper."

"Well, this might be a good time to say what you know."

"Why?"

"It's always good to tell what you know about something like that. Things like that shouldn't go uninvestigated."

"Who are we supposed to tell? Everybody thinks…"

Mac thought Jim's face turned a shade whiter as he looked out the window of his store. Mac looked out the window and saw the sheriff coming that way. He looked at Jim. "You alright?" Mac asked.

"Yeah," Jim replied. "You just let me know when you need that stuff and we'll get you fixed up."

Mac heard the bell on the door ring as the sheriff came in. "Howdy, Jim," he said as he walked in. He looked at Mac as he came over to the counter. "Hi. How do you like our town?"

"It's very interesting," Mac said.

"I'm sure it is. Have the folks around here been treating you good?"

"Yes, they have. They're a very hospitable bunch of people."

"Well, we have a very hospitable town as long as people stay in their place."

Mac stared at him a moment wondering if that was a warning. He wondered if anyone had told him who he really was. "I intend to stay in my place," he said. "I expect people to respect my privacy and leave me alone too."

Jim looked from Mac to Gillespie. He did not think Mac was at all scared of the sheriff like most of them were. Gillespie stared at Mac. He did not see fear in Mac's eyes like he saw in most people around here. He was angry because Mac's gaze did not falter. He looked at Jim. "I need some ammunition," he said as he slapped the counter.

Mac decided he would stay until Gillespie left so that he could not try and intimidate Jim. Mac sauntered over to the leather goods. He loved the smell of leather. They had leather chaps and anything else one could want. Mac picked up a leather knife sheath and a scabbard to carry a rifle on a horse. He smiled as he thought of himself riding a horse on a ranch of his own. What would that be like? It made him feel happy to think about it. He thought he was making the right decision.

Soon, the sheriff left and Mac walked over to the counter to buy a pair of chaps. He just wanted to get started now. He could always put his stuff in his new apartment and leave it there while he went to New York. He thought maybe he did not want to live in Teresa's old house but then again, the greenhouse would give him business until he could get his ranch up and running. He had to have some sort of job…but he supposed he could go out and work at the lumber mill. Maybe they needed a security guard. He did not know how he would work in a place like that. He was used to being the boss. He supposed he would have to learn how to be a worker again.

Mac looked at Jim. "You alright?" he asked.

"Yes," Jim replied. "You don't want that sheriff to find out that you talk about anything."

"Well, I'm not inclined to be afraid of anybody. If he wants to start something with me, he will have a fight."

Jim watched Mac as he left the store. He wanted to talk to everyone else in town. If this man wanted to help them, they would have to help him too. He could not take on this whole situation alone. Jim thought that there were some who would be glad to help but he also knew some who would not because they were afraid…and they had good reason to be.

Mac walked out onto the sidewalk under the awning again. He looked up and down the street of the town. One would think that this town was very peaceful just looking at it, but he knew it was a simmering pressure cooker ready to explode if it did not get relief. He thought he might know how to get the lid off. He remembered when his grandmother cooked vegetables in a steam pressure cooker. One had to know how to get that lid off because it was a puzzle to get it on there. He had never known how to do that but this time, he did.

Mac noticed the sheriff was down the street now talking to someone and looking toward him. He thought that sheriff might figure out that he was here for more than just getting himself a ranch. Why did he have to be so suspicious? That alone confirmed that there was something going on that he did not want to be found out. Mac decided that he would go back home for a while…or at least, to Mrs. Campbell's house. He did not really consider it "home" but it was the only home he had at the moment.

Mac walked into the house and found Mrs. Campbell sitting in her chair knitting. "Afternoon," she said. "You've been gone quite a while."

"Yes," Mac said. "I've been taking care of some business."

Mac watched what Mrs. Campbell was doing. He had not seen anyone knitting in a very long time. She looked at him. "There's some dinner on the stove and in the oven in there if you're hungry," she said. "You didn't come home for lunch."

"I had lunch somewhere else."

Mrs. Campbell smiled. "I saw you leaving Maria's house when I went out to throw out some scraps." She looked at Mac. "That's was quite a display you put on out there."

Mac felt almost shy. "You like that girl?" Mrs. Campbell asked.

Mac nodded. "Yes, I do."

"You better not wait around then. It beats me why young people wait around these days. Why don't you marry her?"

Mac was surprised. "I just met her," he said.

"Aw, it doesn't take that long to know if you love someone. When I was young, people met, fell in love and got married. Not only did they get married, but they stayed married. You just want to see if you can get the apple without buying the tree and you all use fear to do it."

Mac's mouth dropped open. He was incredulous. "I do not," he said. "I don't think anyone should rush into anything."

"That's just an excuse. You have to work through problems. No matter how long you wait, you're still going to go through that time when you do nothing but argue, but then you learn to live together and everything will smooth out."

Mac scowled. He knew she was right about that. He and Claire had gone through that. He remembered when they had argued until he wondered if he had made a mistake. He looked at Mrs. Campbell and sat down on the sofa. "How long were you married?" he asked.

"Fifty-five years," Mrs. Campbell said. She smiled. "It was a wonderful life."

Mac smiled. "I'm sure it was."

"You can have that too, you know. I know Maria."

"You do?"

"Yes, she is a wonderful girl. I don't think you will get that apple without buying the tree."

Mac almost rolled his eyes. "Well, I am a very respectful person," he said. "And I think I would like to have the tree and the apple but I want to get to know her first."

"So, what did you find out in town?"

Mac leaned back on the sofa. "I found out there's a lot of fear in this town," he said.

"Yes, there is. Did you talk to Lawrence?"

"The landlord of the apartment complex? Yes, I am going to rent an apartment from him so I can get out of your hair."

Mrs. Campbell stopped knitting and looked at him. "Did I say you were in my hair?" she asked.

"No, Ma'am, but…"

"Then don't say you're trying to get out of my hair. If you were in my hair, I would tell you to get out myself."

"Yes, Ma'am."

She continued her knitting. "Lawrence has a daughter over there in that prison," she said.

Mac frowned. "How old is she?" he asked.

"She's about eighteen. She was accused of stealing something down there in the store and was 'sentenced' to a prison term out there. The bad thing is that there was no proof that she did anything and she claimed she was not even in the store at the time. That's how he gets a lot of them. He convicts them of crimes that they did not commit and puts them in there."

"How young?"

"Some as young as twelve. I don't know what their living conditions are or anything. No one knows because they're not allowed to go in there."

Mac frowned. "How did this happen?"

"It started out with a girl who actually did commit a crime and he sentenced her to jail…if that is what you want to call it. And it just went from there."

"And he makes them work for him out there?"

"Nobody really knows because no one can get in there. He has security out there and even dogs on the inside of that wall."

Mac thought a moment. "Well, someone is going to have to find a way in to get a firsthand look at what is going on," he said.

Mrs. Campbell looked at him. "If you do, you better be careful," she said. "He would kill you and dispose of your body and no one would ever know what happened to you or be able to prove that you were even here."

Mac frowned. "I understand."

"You should let me know if you're going out there so I will know and you should let me know someone to call if you don't come back."

Mac looked at her. "I will."

Mac went upstairs to his room. He could not believe this mess. He checked his cell phone but it had no service here. He supposed he would have to call Sid to see if he found out anything. There was a phone in his room but he thought he would find a place to make a call on his cell phone. He went back downstairs. "Is there any place in town where my cell phone will work?" he asked.

"Maybe out there on the west side of town," Mrs. Campbell replied. "It's the closest place to Colorado Springs."

"Okay. I will go out there and try it," Mac said.

Mac went out and got his car. He had to turn it in when he went to the airport for his flight to New York. He drove out of town and found that his phone had two bars when he got out of town. He stopped at the land he was about to buy and called Sid.

"Hello," Sid answered.

"Sid. What's going on?"

"Hello, Mac. How are things out there?"

"Complicated. You haven't told anyone about this, have you?"

"Not a soul."

"Have you found anything?"

"Mac, I have found something very interesting."

"Tell me."

"Well, one this is that the victim was shot in the face," Sid said. "Most people who commit suicide this way shoot themselves in the temple or in the roof of the mouth if that is their choice but this girl was shot in the face and it seems that she was shot with a shotgun. How did they identify this as Teresa Lordsbury?"

Mac frowned. "I don't know, Sid," he said slowly. "Why?"

"I would need DNA and fingerprints for this girl to identify the body as her," Sid said. "And I'll tell you…most women who commit suicide don't do it this way. A shotgun is just an unusual weapon for a woman to use to commit suicide and I'll tell you, it just doesn't look like the way a person would shoot themselves like this."

Mac was silent a moment. "So, you're saying that this might not even be Teresa Lordsbury," he said.

"I'm saying that I cannot make a definite identification without something else."

Mac considered that. "I'll try to find something if I can get Arnold Cummings to let me in her house."

"That would help."

"I'll talk to you later, Sid."

Mac ended the call. He could not believe this. Maybe Teresa was a prisoner out there at that plantation. But if she was, who was the victim? He knew that sheriff had to make it look like Teresa was dead so that her mother would not ask too many questions because he could not have kept that girl on that plantation without it because her mother was not afraid of him. Mac frowned at that. His anger welled up inside him at the thought of that. That girl might not be dead, but instead she might be a prisoner and an innocent girl was murdered to cover it up. Someone was going to pay for that.


	7. Chapter 7

That evening, Mac took a shower and got dressed in a blue shirt and black pants. He wanted to look nice tonight because he was going to eat with Maria at the diner. He decided he would take his car this time. He did not want to walk down the street and let everyone see him. He felt like everyone was looking at him when he walked down the street.

Mac arrived at the diner and found that Maria was already there and she was waiting for him outside. She was wearing a pink sleeveless dress. He got out of the car and walked over to her. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Maria said with a smile.

"You look nice."

"So do you."

"Shall we go inside?"

"Well, how would you like to eat at my house again?"

"Casserole?"

Maria smiled. "No, I made something special this time."

"The casserole was good but that would be fine with me. We can take my car."

They got in the car and went around to Maria's house. Mac parked in the driveway and they went inside. "Maybe after we eat I can take you out there to see where my ranch will be," Mac said.

"I would love that," Maria said. "But it might be dark by then."

"We can go tomorrow then."

"That sounds great. How about in the morning? I don't have my first hair appointment until nine."

"It's a date."

Maria smiled and took his hand. "I have everything ready on the table."

"You were sure I would say yes?"

"I was hoping you would."

They went into the dining room and Mac was surprised at the meal that Maria had made. It was steak and potatoes and other vegetables and even rolls. "I'm impressed," Mac said.

"Have a seat," Maria replied.

"I guess I will seat you first."

Mac walked over to Maria's chair and seated her and then he sat down himself. Maria waited anxiously for Mac to taste the steak. "Very good," he said as he tasted the first bite.

"I'm glad you like it," Maria said.

They ate in silence a moment. "So tell me something about you," Maria said. "You said your wife died?"

"Yes," Mac said. "She died on nine-eleven."

Maria's mouth almost dropped open but she managed to stop it. "And you're still single?"

Mac nodded. "I thought I had found the right person once but she didn't agree so…"

"She must have been crazy."

Mac looked at her a moment. "Well, I don't know. Maybe I was crazy not to go after her."

"But then you wouldn't be here."

Mac thought about that a moment. "I guess I wouldn't."

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

Maria took another bite of her food. "What's it like living in New York?" she asked.

Mac almost laughed. "A lot different from here," he said. "Everybody around here knows that I'm in town. I was surprised at how quickly the news spread."

"People around here are always interested in a new person who comes along, but they are particularly interested in you."

"Why?"

"Because you're a detective. They want you to help this town." Maria stared at Mac. "Do you know more about what's going on around here than I do?"

Mac looked at her. "I'm afraid I do, but I can't go into it right now."

Maria stared at him. "Don't get killed," she said.

"I'm going to do my best."

Mac sipped his drink. "So, tell me something about yourself," he said.

"Well, I moved here about four years ago from Wyoming," Maria said and smiled. "That was a big move, wasn't it?"

Mac smiled. "Maybe you're going little by little."

Maria laughed. "Hmmm, maybe I will be in New Mexico next." She looked at Mac. "Or maybe I have found where I want to put down roots."

"What do you want in life?"

"I would like to get married and have a home of my own and have children."

Mac had known that line was coming. He wondered if he was too old to be thinking of starting a family. He thought he should have done that a long time ago. Maria looked at him, noticing his silence. "You don't have any children, do you?" she asked.

"No," Mac answered. "I wish we had had one but…"

"What do you like to do in your spare time?"

Mac smiled. "Well, since my wife died, I have not let myself have any spare time. I guess I didn't want to think about it. I've mostly just worked around the clock and just tried to bury myself in work."

"That's not what you should do," Maria said.

"I know that now. One of my team members convinced me of that. I took more time off before I retired than I ever had but I still worked most of the time."

"Tell me about your team."

Mac told her about the team in New York, leaving out the part about Jo wanting to date him. He did not want to date Jo and did not think it would be appropriate. "So, what about you?" he asked. "You have any family back in Wyoming?"

"Yes," Maria answered. "My parents still live there. I was living with them, believe it or not. I could still be living there but I just wanted to…"

"Move to Pumpkin Flat and open a beauty salon and dress shop," Mac finished.

Maria smiled. "I just wanted something of my own."

"Nothing wrong with that."

"They're proud of me." Maria's smile faded slightly. "They would be very worried if they knew what was going on in this town. They were worried when they heard what happened to Teresa."

"I'm sure they were. I would be worried if it was my daughter."

Maria looked at him. "Do you think age matters?" she asked.

Mac looked into her light blue eyes but he could not look very long. "No, I don't," he said.

"You like younger women?"

"My wife was only three years younger than me. I did go out with a woman once who was quite a bit younger."

"How did that go?"

Mac chuckled. "Well, we were not on the same plain. We didn't go out again. I decided that I wanted someone more my age."

Maria smiled. "You think I'm too young for you?" she asked.

"Well, I'm forty-seven."

"I'm thirty-two."

"Do 'you' think I'm too old?"

"Not at all. Even if you were, I couldn't deny this feeling we have between us."

Mac had to admit he felt something between them too. "Me neither," he said. "It started when we ran into each other at the diner."

"I know."

"I have never had that happen."

"Neither have I. It's kinda scary, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Mac looked at her. "But I don't want to be scared. A relationship can be a beautiful thing."

"And can lead to even more beautiful things."

Mac nodded. "It can."

Maria reached her hand across the table to the middle. Mac looked at it a moment and then slid his hand into hers. Her hand was soft and small in his hand and warm. "It's been a long time since I dated," Mac said.

"Me too," Maria replied. "I guess I was waiting for you."

"I guess I was waiting for you too."

They finished eating and then went into the living room. "So, I guess we could go and watch a movie," Maria said. "We 'do' have a theater."

"I saw it," Mac said. "I suppose we can if that is what you want to do."

"Or we could go out on the back porch and sit in the swing and watch the mountains disappear with the sun going down."

Mac looked at her. "That sounds even better."

"Good."

They went outside on the back porch and sat in the swing. Mac thought about the case he was involved in for just a few seconds, but then Maria sat down beside him. He seemed to forget everything else when she was close to him and he could not concentrate. They looked at each other a moment and then shared a kiss. "You're a good kisser," Maria said with a smile.

"So are you," Mac replied. He kissed her again. He stroked her hair. "Pretty hair."

Maria felt almost shy as Mac touched her face and told her how pretty she was. "Now, surely you've been told before that you were pretty," Mac said softly.

"My mother told me that and my father, my sisters," Maria said.

Mac smiled. "Oh, come on. There must have been some guy who told you that. Girls as pretty as you usually have somebody tell them that."

"Well, some woman must have told you that you're handsome too. Right?"

Mac smiled as he remembered Jo telling him that he was sexy. "Well, yeah."

Maria kissed him again. Then they looked out at the sunset. "We have a perfect view here," Maria said as she lay her head on Mac's shoulder.

Mac put his arm around her and relaxed beside her. "I think I'm home," he said.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Mac sat straight up in bed. He looked around him and realized he was in his room in Mrs. Campbell's house. He fell back on the bed. He had been dreaming that he was still at Maria's house. He remembered leaving her house and coming home. They had sat on the porch swing and watched the sun go down and had talked for hours. He had enjoyed that. It had been a long time since he sat and talked to anyone like that. He thought they had talked over their whole lives out there. He had told her about being in the Marines and being married and about working at the crime lab and about being lonely, and she had told him about living in Wyoming and living with her parents and how she had come here and got her business started. She had been lucky that they did not have a beautician in this small town and they were ready for one.

Mac turned on his side and looked out the window. He had to think about the case he was working on. Sid did not even think the victim was Teresa Lordsbury and he certainly did not think the person had committed suicide in such a manner. He had to go out to Teresa's place today and see if Arnold Cummings would let him in to get some things that might have her DNA on them such as a hairbrush, or maybe he could collect some fingerprints. However, he did not have a fingerprinting kit. He would have to go and see Jim and see if he could find anything like that for him or if he had something that would double for one. Makeup would not work because it caked too much. It had to be something light that would just spread over the fingerprint to bring it out. There were several kinds of powders that went along with fingerprinting and he had none of them. It was amazing how dusting for fingerprints worked. The oils on the skin were what caused people to leave fingerprints and the powders clung to those oils.

Mac threw the covers back and sat up on the side of the bed. He had to get up and get moving. He got up and took a shower and got dressed. He packed up all his stuff that he had in the room. He would be going back to New York tonight or in the morning. He had to get the fingerprints back to the crime lab to see if the body was actually Teresa Lordsbury.

When Mac was ready, he went down to the kitchen where Mrs. Campbell had left breakfast for him in the oven. He wondered where she was this morning. He did not think she was in the house which he thought was odd. She was hardly ever out, but he went ahead and ate his breakfast. He had wanted to tell Mrs. Campbell that he was about to leave to go back to New York soon but she was not here.

Mac decided he would come back to the house after he got his business taken care of. He went outside and looked toward Maria's house. He wanted her to be safe while he was gone. He did not know how to ensure that. He certainly did not want that sheriff to capture her and put her in his prison. He thought of taking her with him but he was sure she would not agree to that. She had a business to run and they had not known each other very long. However, he might ask her anyway. He should leave that decision up to her whether she wanted to go or not…and it would please him if she did.

Mac walked over to Maria's house and knocked but she was not there so he thought she must be at her salon. He walked around to the main street and walked to her salon, but it was not open. He knocked on the door to see if she was there but he did not see anyone. He was puzzled now, but then he realized that she might be down at the diner. He walked down there and found that Maria was not there either. He walked over to the counter where Mandy was working.

Mandy smiled at him. "Hi," she said. "What can I get for you?"

"Have you seen Maria this morning?" Mac asked.

"Yes. She was in a while ago. Don't know where she is now."

"Thanks."

Mac walked out of the diner wondering where Maria was. He could not help but worry a little. He blew out a breath and walked on down to the gun shop and was surprised to find Maria there. "Good morning," she said with a bright smile.

"Morning," Mac said trying to keep the relief out of his voice. "I was looking for you."

"Were you?" Maria walked over to him and gave him a light kiss.

Mac almost lost his train of thought and forgot what he came in there for. He could not believe the affect she had on him but he supposed that's how love was. Love? Was he in love with her? He swallowed hard as that thought made him a little nervous. He did not know why. What did he think he was doing?

Mac realized his mind was wandering and he cleared his throat. "Uhm, I was wanting to ask you something," he said.

"What?" Maria asked.

Mac had to think a moment. "I am…" He realized he did not want to tell her all this in this store. "I'll tell you when we drive out to the ranch."

"Okay. That's great."

"First, I have to talk to Jim."

Mac went over to the counter. "Jim, I need to ask you something," Mac said.

"Sure," Jim replied. He leaned on the counter. "We're getting some people together in this town," he whispered. "You're not going to be alone."

Mac stared at him a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Whenever you need us, we will help you. We won't do anything until you say."

"Do you have anything like a fingerprinting kit? Or anything that I could use for one?"

Jim thought a moment. "You mean to lift fingerprints?"

"Yes."

"I don't have one, but Charles down at the newspaper office might have one," Jim said. "Or he would have something that you could use. He has powder ink over there."

"Thanks," Mac said.

"Like I said, you're not alone."

Mac nodded. "Thanks. And just be careful. Don't let him get wind of what's going on."

"We won't."

Mac and Maria walked out of the gun shop. "So, where is the newspaper office?" Mac asked.

"It's back this side of town," Maria answered.

Mac thought he was going to get to find out what was out on the other back street. They walked out behind the gun shop and saw the small newspaper office. "Does Charles know about all this?" Mac asked.

"Yes," Maria said. "We have let everyone we can trust know it." She hugged Mac's arm. "I couldn't let you do this alone."

Mac looked at her. "Maria, I'm used to these situations. It could be dangerous."

"You know the sheriff has deputies. He has men out there who guard that prison. You can't do all this alone. We have men in this town who served in the military and they can help you if no one else can."

"Maria, I was wanting to ask you to come to New York with me," Mac said bluntly.

Maria looked at him with surprised. "To New York?"

"Yes. I mean while I go and tie up everything there. I'm going tonight or tomorrow morning." Mac held her hand. "I'm afraid to leave you here while I go. I'm afraid he'll realize what's going on and I'm sure he's heard about our relationship."

Maria's surprise turned to almost fear. "You mean, you think he might try to take me out there?" she asked.

"I don't want to scare you but I don't want anything to happen to you."

Maria swallowed hard. "I know this is a dangerous situation." She looked at Mac. "And I would love to go to New York with you."

"Then you'll go?"

Maria considered that as they walked out onto the other street and headed for the newspaper office. She wanted to go with Mac but it made her nervous. She would have to call her mother and talk to her about this, but she knew it would scare her parents if she told them what was going on here. They would want her to move back home…until they found out about Mac. She knew they would be happy to know that she had found a man…or that he had found her. She held Mac's hand as they went into the newspaper office.

Mac had never seen such a small newspaper office, but then again, he knew they had a small town and did not have a whole lot of news to tell. The man behind the desk in the office had brown graying hair and brown eyes. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes," Mac replied. "You must be Charles."

"Yes, Charles Walton."

"I'm Mac Taylor."

"Oh, I have heard of you." Charles stood up and shook Mac's hand. "What can I do for you?"

"Has Jim spoke with you?"

"Yes. He has."

"I was wondering if you have any powdered ink that I could use for lifting fingerprints," Mac said quietly.

Charles nodded. "Yes, I do," he said almost whispering. "I'll be right back."

Mac and Maria waited in the front while Charles went to the back room. Mac looked at her as she was holding his hand tightly. "Everything will be okay," he assured her.

Maria looked at him. "Do you think the town is in danger?" she asked. "Or those girls out there?"

Mac shook his head. "I don't know. He won't try a mass murder because he'll know that would bring the FBI down on him. He just wants people to think he will try something like that."

"He's manipulating them."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that he wouldn't kill one person at a time. After all, he has them over there in that prison where no one knows what's happening."

Maria looked out the window and then at Mac. "I will go with you," she said. "I want to stay with you."

Mac nodded. "I'll walk you home after we get through here and I have to get my car to go out to Teresa's place."

"I want to go with you."

"Okay."

Charles soon came back with a small container with blue powder ink and even a soft bristle brush that looked like a makeup brush. "I thought this would be convenient for you," he said. Then he took out a roll laminate papers. "I think these will help a lot too."

Mac looked at it a moment and smiled. "It's perfect," he said. "Thank you."

"I was an officer at one time myself," Charles said. "I served in the Army for ten years and then I was a police officer."

"I'm going to try and solve this problem here."

"We will be with you."

Mac nodded and then he and Maria left the newspaper office. "Well, that was a productive visit," Maria said.

"Yes," Mac agreed.

They walked back to Mrs. Campbell's house and got Mac's car. As they were going down the street, they saw the sheriff standing outside on the sidewalk. He stared at them as they went by. Mac knew that sheriff did not get in his position without being smart, and he knew the man was capable of unspeakable crimes. He had not seen any of the deputies in town.

"Where do the deputies stay?" Mac asked. "I never see any of them in town."

"Well, they patrol the county a lot and besides that, one of them is always at the sheriff's office. "There aren't that many so they aren't seen very often."

"Do they all know what is going on? Are they in on it?"

"I'm not sure. I met Nathan Burger once and he did not seem to be bad. He was very nice. He was at the diner but I have not seen him many times. He comes in once in a while to get a haircut. It's a big county."

Mac nodded. He drove out to Teresa Lordsbury's place and he and Maria got out of the car. "He'll be along in a minute," Mac said. "It didn't take him long to get here the last time I was here."

"Arnold Cummings," Maria said. "He's the caretaker."

"Yes, I know."

Soon, the same pickup Mac had seen before arrived and came into the driveway. Arnold Cummings got out and walked over to Mac. "You're back, huh?" he asked.

"Yes," Mac said.

"Mrs. Lordsbury told me to let you do what you want out here."

"I need into the house. I have to see if I can find any fingerprints and some DNA from Teresa. Is everything still like it was?"

"Yes. I have not touched anything and her mother made sure she preserved everything."

"Good."

Arnold let them into the house and Mac went into the bedroom. He figured it would be a good place to find evidence. Maria and Arnold watched as Mac lifted prints from the room. "Have you touched anything in this room?" Mac asked.

"No," Arnold replied.

Mac got several prints and then found Teresa's hairbrush which still had some hairs in it. He stared at it and hunted until he found two hairs with a root on them. He put those into a plastic bag and put them into the small kit that Charles had fixed for him. "These should do," he said. He looked at Maria and Arnold. "Maybe we will have a breakthrough soon."

"I hope," Maria replied.

They all went back outside. "Thank you," Mac said to Arnold.

"Any time," Arnold replied.

"Just be careful."

"I will."

Mac and Maria got into the car and headed back to town. "I have to get us a flight to New York," Mac said. "We'll have to drive to Colorado Springs to catch the flight."

"I'll be ready," Maria said.

Mac looked at her. "I'll be happy to have you with me."


	9. Chapter 9

When the plane was circling around New York the next morning, Maria was amazed. She had never seen a big city like New York. She had been to Cheyenne, Wyoming, but it was nowhere near this big. "Wow," she said as she looked down at the city.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Mac asked.

"Yes. I have never seen a city this big."

"I grew up in one but it's still amazing to see a city like this after being out in the country."

"I see the Statue of Liberty." Maria looked at Mac. "Can we visit that while we're here?"

Mac smiled. "I'm sure we'll have time. It will take a while for Sid and the others to get the evidence ready."

Maria looked at Mac. "You think Teresa is still alive?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but if that is her, she did not commit suicide."

Maria looked sad. "She was a sweet woman. Why would he want to kill her?"

"She found out what was going on. I don't know how or what happened, but she must have found out and must have let him know it."

"How could she know it? I didn't even know it."

"Most of the people in town know about it. He arrested girls who had not committed crimes."

"It's scary to think that someone that we're supposed to be able to trust to protect us would do something like this."

Mac looked at her. "That's what makes it even worse," he said. "And he's going to be stopped."

The plane landed and they disembarked. Mac rubbed his forehead as he walked out into the waiting area. He felt like he was still in the air. "You okay?" Maria asked, noticing him sway a little.

"Oh, I just have to get accustomed to being on the ground again," Mac said. He shook his head a little and then looked at her. "I feel like I'm still flying."

Maria smiled. "I have been like that before. It is not funny."

"No, but I'll be alright."

They went to the carousel and got their luggage and went out to get a cab. "So, what is your apartment like?" Maria asked as she was mesmerized by the city as they were traveling through in the cab.

Mac thought a moment. "Well, I guess you're going to find out," he said. "I thought we would go there first and leave our luggage."

Maria smiled. "Of course."

"It's kinda hard to describe."

"For a country girl who's been nowhere?"

"No, for anyone."

Soon, they arrived at Mac's apartment building and went inside. They went up to the apartment and Mac opened the door. Maria walked in looking around as she did. "Wow, this is nice," she said.

Mac walked in and sighed as it was good to be home even if he was moving. He took his suitcase into the bedroom and set it beside the bed and then went back into the living room. "I have an extra room," he said. "No one has to sleep on the couch."

"That's good," Maria replied.

"Right this way."

Maria followed Mac to the room that she would be staying in while they were there. "I'll get some sheets for the bed," Mac said and went into the closet there in the room. "I hardly ever fix this bed because no one uses it."

"Well, I don't see any reason to if no one uses it," Maria said.

Mac came back out with a set of white sheets and a blanket. "I have a comforter that goes on this bed too."

"I can fix it. You need some rest after that flight, don't you?"

"I have to get over to the crime lab and take that evidence to them. Will you be alright here?"

"Absolutely."

"Just make yourself at home and I'll be back later."

They stared at each other a moment and then Mac kissed her. He wondered when he would stop feeling nervous about that. "Be careful," Maria said.

"I will," Mac replied. He got his briefcase and headed out.

Mac left the apartment and headed for the elevator. He blew out a breath. What was he going to do when Jo found out he had a new "friend". He got into the elevator and pressed the lobby button. He leaned his head back on the wall of the elevator and closed his eyes a moment. Just thinking about Maria made his heart flutter. When she was close to him, he felt like he could not breathe and he could not think of what he was doing or concentrate. When she kissed him, he felt like he would pass out. What was wrong with him? Was he in love with her? Yes, he was in love with her. He could not deny it. He thought he was a basket case already. He almost felt sick.

The elevator doors opened and Mac walked out into the lobby. He had to get his mind on what he was doing but it was hard. He found himself just thinking about her when he was still. He wondered what would happen to him if they ever went further than just kissing.

Mac shook his head at his thoughts and went on out to get a cab. He sat in the cab and thought about Maria not even paying attention to the city around him. He thought she had a laugh like a song almost and she smelled good. Mac rubbed his face. He had to stop thinking about that. If he went into that lab thinking about all that, they would know he was distracted. He could not believe how he felt and he had only known the woman a few days…and he had even brought her to New York with him! What was he thinking? But she had come with him. He could not blame it all on himself because she agreed too.

Mac got out of the cab at the precinct and went inside. He thought maybe that flight was causing him to feel weird and just messing with his brain. When he walked in, Don Flack saw him first. "Mac!" he said.

"Hi, Don," Mac said. "How have you been?"

"Been fine. Just still trying to bring justice to this cesspool of violence."

Mac rolled his eyes. "You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"Nope. Why mess with perfection?"

Mac smiled and chuckled at that. "Perfection is hard to find. Definitely don't mess with it."

Don smiled. "Hey, how is Colorado?" he asked.

"It's nice and quiet," Mac said. He looked at Don. "I have some fingerprints that I want them to run up there. I need a guest badge."

"Sure. I'll take you up there myself."

"Thanks."

They went up to the lab where Danny and Lindsey were working on some evidence. "Hey, Mac!" Danny said. "Long time, no see!"

"I knew he couldn't stay away from this lab," Lindsey remarked.

"Hey, I need you guys to run some fingerprints for me," Mac said.

Danny took the fingerprints from Mac and went over to the scanner. "So, whose fingerprints am I looking at?" he asked.

"That's what I want to know," Mac said.

Danny scanned all the fingerprints that Mac had found into the scanner and it began its search. "I also have some DNA for you to run," Mac said and gave the hairs to Lindsey. "I need to know if those hairs match the DNA of a victim that Sid has down in the morgue."

Just then, Jo walked into the lab. "Mac Taylor," she said. "I thought I heard a different, familiar voice in here."

Mac smiled. "Hi, Jo," he said.

Jo walked over to him and hugged him. "How was Colorado?" she asked.

"Nice and quiet."

"Nothing like the country." Jo slid her arm in his and led him out of the lab. "You want to see your old office?"

Mac smiled. "I'm sure it doesn't look the same," he said.

"I'm sure it doesn't."

Mac almost laughed when they walked in. Jo occupied his office now and it showed with her usual clutter. "I have a lot more room for post-it notes," Jo said with a smile.

"You sure haven't changed at all," Mac said.

Jo looked at him. "Have you thought about our conversation?" she asked.

Mac looked down. He did not know what to say but he did not want to tell her about Maria right now. "I have," he said.

"So, what do you think?"

Mac looked at Jo. "I'm moving to Colorado, Jo," he said. "I decided to buy a ranch out there and live in the country."

Jo was surprised. "You just decided this on the spur of the moment?"

"Well, not really. I decided it after I got there and…"

"Mac Taylor. You're up to something out there. What are you into?"

"Jo, I can't tell you everything about that right now."

"You're on a case, aren't you?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, that little aversion there for one thing and the fact that you were going on a trip to Colorado and suddenly, you're moving there."

"Jo, I wanted a place of my own and when I got out there, I just like this town and I want to live there and have a ranch."

"Sounds nice."

"It is."

Just then, Danny walked in with the fingerprint results. "There were two different sets of prints in these," he said. "Neither of them show up in the system. If Sid has someone down there in the morgue who matches these prints, he must not have printed them yet."

Mac stared at the results. Jo looked at him. "You 'are' on a case," she said. "What's this about?"

"A very complicated and sensitive situation," Mac said. He looked at her. "I can't tell you everything about this right now. I don't want you to let anyone know about this."

"What is going on, Mac?"

"It has nothing to do with this lab."

"It does now because he just ran fingerprints for you."

Mac frowned. "Well, I didn't have anywhere else to take them," he said. He looked at Jo. "I'll tell you everything when this is over."

Danny went back to the lab. Jo stared at Mac a moment. "I miss you around here," she said.

"I miss all of you," Mac replied. "But my life is different now and I'm not coming back here."

"I realize that." Jo walked over to him. "Can I at least have a kiss before you run off this time?"

Mac's mind immediately went to Maria but he did not want to tell Jo about her right now. "Sure," he said. He kissed Jo on the cheek and then started out the door. "I'll see you, Jo. I have to go and see Sid."

Jo was surprised at Mac's shyness…or that was what she thought it was. She thought she would lose him but when he had settled in out there, she would go out there and see him and maybe they could start something together then.

Mac hurried to the elevator. "Hey, Mac!" Don said. "Wait up."

Mac waited for him and they got into the elevator. "I have to go and see Sid," Mac said.

They went down to the morgue and walked out of the elevator. Sid was standing looking at a file when they walked in. He looked over his glasses at them. "Mac," he said. "How are you?"

"Doing okay," Mac said. He walked over to Sid and showed him the fingerprint readout.

Sid looked at it and then looked at Mac. "I fingerprinted her," Sid said.

"I know. You know what this means."

Sid looked toward the freezer drawer where the victim was. "It means our victim just became Jane Doe."

"I have to let Mrs. Lordsbury know about this," Mac said. "And I have to get the FBI involved or the Marshalls. They will have to deal with that sheriff out there."

Sid looked at Mac. "That could be a dangerous situation, Mac," he said.

"I know, but I am not going to let that go on over there."

"I understand."

Mac started to walk off but Sid grabbed his arm. "So, how are things out there besides all that?" he asked.

"I'm moving over there, Sid," Mac said. "I'm getting myself a ranch."

"Nice." Sid smiled. "I've seen men do things like this before." He looked at Mac. "I wish you luck and I hope she brings you happiness and contentment the rest of your life."

Mac frowned as he looked at Sid. "Thanks, Sid. You just keep that to yourself."

"My lips are sealed."

Mac walked away, glad that Don did not hear that. He did not like coming into the morgue so he had waited outside for Mac. "So, what's going on?" Don asked.

"I can't discuss all this right now," Mac replied.

"Must be a big case."

"It is." Mac looked at Don. "It's a pretty terrible thing going on over there."

"Anything we can help with?"

"No. I have to get the FBI involved."

Don nodded. "If you need anything, just let me know."

"Thanks, Don."

Mac left the precinct and headed for Mrs. Lordsbury's home which was a big mansion outside the city. He thought he wanted to take Maria with him. He called her to see if she wanted to go. She did so he stopped at his apartment to pick her up. "Should I have dressed up?" Maria asked.

"No," Mac replied. He looked at her. "Unless that would make you more comfortable."

"We're going to see a rich lady, right?"

"Yes," Mac said. "But she will not be concerned about what we're wearing. She will be concerned about what I found out about her daughter."

Maria looked at him. "What?"

Mac glanced at the driver. "I will tell you later," he whispered.

"Okay."

Maria looked out the window of the cab and tried to see the tops of the buildings. "This is just incredible," she said. "Will we pass by the Empire State Building?"

"We can," Mac said. He leaned up to the driver. "Make a turn and go by the Empire State Building."

Mac leaned back beside Maria. "You'll see it now," he said.

Maria smiled. "This is so exciting."

"What did your parents think about you coming with me?" Mac asked.

Maria's smile brightened. "They were excited that I had found a man and that he wanted to bring me over here with him," she said and looked at Mac.

Mac smiled. "Well, I'm glad they approve."

"They hope I'll get married."

Mac looked into her eyes. "You never know," he said.

When they got to Mrs. Lordsbury's home, they had to go through a gated driveway and drive up to the brick mansion. "Wow," Maria said. "This is a big house."

Mac got out of the cab and took Maria's hand as she got out. He paid the cab driver and then he and Maria looked up at the house. "Well, let's go in," Mac said.

They walked up to the door. Mac started to ring the doorbell but the door opened. There was a woman at the door who was dressed in a maid's uniform of a blue dress and an apron. "Right this way," she said.

Mac and Maria followed her through the house which was furnished with expensive furniture and chandeliers. The maid led them out the back door to the patio where Mrs. Lordsbury was sitting at a table having a snack of fruit. "Good day, Detective Taylor," she said. "Won't you have a seat?"

Mac walked over to the table. "I brought my friend, Maria with me," he said. "She lives in Pumpkin Flat too."

"I remember Teresa talking about you a lot," Mrs. Lordsbury said. "Have a seat."

Mac and Maria sat down. "Have some tea?" Mrs. Lordsbury offered.

"No thanks," Mac replied.

"I'll have some," Maria said.

Mac looked at Mrs. Lordsbury. "I found out something about your daughter's case," he said.

"What have you found?" Angela asked.

"I have some…well it's good news in a way, but it's bad in another way."

"Tell me."

"The body in the morgue is not your daughter."

Angela and Maria both looked at Mac with surprise. "Then who is it, and where is my daughter?" Angela asked.

"I'm going to find that out, Ma'am," Mac said. "I don't know who that young woman is but it is not Teresa."

Angela put her hand to her heart. "Oh my," she said. "What have they done with her?"

Mac did not want to tell her where her daughter might be but Angela stared at him. "You know where she is, don't you?" she asked. "Tell me. I want to know."

"I'm not sure where she is," Mac said. "I don't know."

"But you have an idea."

Mac knew he would have to tell her. "She may be held captive on a plantation that the sheriff has out there. He has several young women out there and I think that is probably where Teresa is."

Angela stared at him a moment. "Are you telling me that he has my daughter a prisoner?" she asked. "I will have the FBI down on him so fast…"

"Now, wait. You need to let me handle this quietly. If you do that, you could endanger those young women. If your daughter is there, we will find her."

"I want her out of there. She is not going to stay captive to anyone."

"I will find her, Ma'am. I have to have time though. I have to find a way to get in there and get evidence of what is going on so that the FBI will get involved."

"I understand but I don't want her to stay in there another minute than is necessary."

"I understand that."

"I appreciate what you are doing for me. Have you found your ranch yet?"

"I have chosen a piece of land and I will have it built."

"That is good. You deserve it."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

Mac and Maria left the house after Mrs. Lordsbury insisted on her driver taking them back to the city. They got into the limousine and headed back to Mac's apartment. "This is so awesome," Maria said. "Wait till I tell mother I rode in a limo."

Mac smiled. "We might ride in one again someday," he said without thinking. He realized what he was insinuating and looked at her.

"We just might."

Mac put his arm around her and ran his fingers through her hair. "What is it about you?" he asked. "I can't concentrate on what I'm doing. I find myself thinking about you all the time if I'm still. We've only known each other for a few days but I feel like I've known you all my life."

"Well, isn't that the way it happens?" Maria asked softly.

"It must be."

They shared a long kiss and did not realize when they crossed the bridge back into the city. Mac felt like they were the only two people in the world and he did not want anyone else to intrude. Maria could not believe that they could feel this way when they just met either. It was a little scary but she had seen Mac's gentleness and goodness. He was willing to risk his life to help people that he did not even know. That was worth a lot.

They picked up something to eat and by the time they got back to the apartment, the sun was starting to go down. "How long will it take the DNA tests to get done?" Maria asked.

"About three days," Mac replied. "We'll have that time to explore here a little."

"Sounds wonderful."

Mac unlocked the door of his apartment and they went in. Just then, Mac's phone rang. He looked at it and it was Jo. He swallowed hard. He did not know what to do about this situation. "Hello," he answered.

"Mac, I was wondering if you would like to have dinner tonight," Jo said.

"Uhm, I can't, Jo. I'm busy."

"Well, how about tomorrow night? You can come to my place. It will be our farewell dinner?"

Mac did not know how he could get out of this. "I'll talk to you tomorrow after I know what I'm doing," he said.

"Sure. Just call me."

"Okay."

Mac ended the call. He knew he had to tell Jo. He could not let this go on, but he had told her that he did not want to have a relationship with her because they worked together. Of course, they did not work together now but he had to tell her about Maria. Maybe he could meet her for lunch tomorrow and explain everything to her. He dreaded it but he would have to.

"Who was that?" Maria asked.

Mac looked at her. "Let's sit down," he said.

They sat down on the couch. "It was Jo," Mac said and looked at Maria.

"Is she more than a friend?" Maria asked.

"No. She never has been, but she wanted to be and she still does."

"And you haven't told her about me."

"Not yet. I really haven't had a chance."

"But you haven't let on like you wanted to be with her, have you?"

"No. I told her that I didn't think it would be appropriate because we worked together and I just don't want to start something like that."

"Well, you should tell her before you lose your friend," Maria said.

Mac looked at her. "You're right. It's not going to be easy."

"I'm sure she'll understand."

"Jo is very complicated. She already had a failed marriage and I just don't want to hurt her."

"Well, what are you going to do when she shows up in Colorado?"

"I'm going to tell her tomorrow. I will try to meet her for lunch and tell her if you don't mind."

"Not at all. I just hope it goes well."

Maria moved closer to him. "How about some more kisses?" she asked and put her arms around his neck.

"I can handle that," Mac said.

They shared a long kiss and then watched some TV together. Mac soon got sleepy and started yawning. Maria looked at him. "I think I'm ready to go to bed," she said.

"Me too," Mac replied. He turned the TV off and stood up to stretch and yawn.

They walked into Mac's room and stopped. Mac kissed her. "Good night," he said.

"Sleep well," Maria replied and went into the other room.

Mac watched her close the door. He was not sure he would sleep much with her in the next room. He knew he would be thinking about her. He went into his bathroom. He was glad to be home. He got a shower and shaved and then brushed his teeth. He went back into his room and got into his t-shirt and sweats. He did some push-ups like he usually did before he went to bed.

"Mac?"

Mac looked over the bed at Maria who was looking out the door of the other room. "Yes?"

"Do you have any bottled water?"

"Yes. I'll get you a bottle."

Maria followed him to the kitchen. She was wearing a pink robe. Mac got a bottle from the refrigerator. "Thank you," Maria said.

"Is that all you need?" Mac asked.

"Yes. Thanks. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night."

Mac went back into his room and got into bed. He did not have any trouble getting to sleep…


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Maria woke up. She wondered if Mac was up. She was used to getting up early. She got up and got dressed and peeped out the door of her room. Mac was still in bed. She could tell he was asleep by the rhythm of his breathing. She watched him a moment thinking of how warm it would be in bed with him. She came out of her room quietly and went to the kitchen. She discovered that Mac did not have anything in the refrigerator to eat and not much in the pantry. She supposed he had emptied it out before he left town.

Maria went back to the bedroom. She stared at Mac in the bed a moment. She wondered if he would be upset if she woke him up. She went over to the bed and watched him sleep a moment and then touched his shoulder. "Mac?" she whispered.

Mac jerked out of his sleep and sat up. He looked at Maria and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry I startled you," Maria said.

"That's alright," Mac said. "I'm not used to anyone else being around." He looked at her. "Do you need something?"

"Well, there's nothing in the kitchen to cook for breakfast so I was wondering what we're going to do for that."

Mac looked at his watch as he yawned. It was 7 am. "We'll just go out for breakfast," he said. He lay back down on the pillow and looked at Maria. He thought it would be wonderful to wake up to her every morning.

"Well, I'll just wait in the living room," Maria said.

Mac watched her walk away from the bed. He sat up and watched her walk out of the room. He could smell the sweet smell she had left behind in the air. He could definitely get used to that. He fell back over on the bed and stretched. He had to get his mind on what he had to do today. He was not sure he could keep it on that but he had to try. He thought maybe he should just marry her and then he would be able to concentrate again. He thought of what Mrs. Campbell had said. He was sure she would be at the wedding if they decided to get married now. He smiled. He remembered hearing the stories of how his grandparents and even his parents had met. His grandparents were still teens when they got married and they had been married sixty years before one of them passed away. His parents had gotten married young too. Mac thought it was amazing how things had changed but he knew why it had changed.

Mac threw the covers back and sat up on the side of the bed. He had to tell Jo that he had found someone else. He sighed as he thought of how she would react to that. However, she was a professional and a mother and he knew she would go on with life although it would hurt her. He could not help it. He had not intended to go over there to Colorado and fall in love but it happened and there was nothing he could do about it now. His heart would not let this go and he did not want to let it go. He deserved to be happy like anyone else. Besides, he thought if Jo would just think about it, she would realize that she was still in love with Russ and he was definitely still in love with her. Mac thought that was why she was still single and not dating anyone. He did not want to get into that messy situation anyway. He wanted someone who was not attached to someone else. She would always be attached to Russ.

Mac got up and got dressed in a t-shirt and jogging pants with a light jacket. Even though it would be hot later that day, it was chilly in the mornings. He went into the living room where Maria was admiring his ball and chain mechanism. She looked at Mac. "I've never seen anything like this," she said.

"It's an old antique," Mac said.

Maria looked at how Mac was dressed. "Are we walking to the restaurant?" she asked.

"You want to?"

"Sure. I'll be right out." Maria went back to her room.

Mac looked out the window of his apartment. He could still see the neighbors across the way. The young couple who lived over there now had a baby. He could see them taking care of it and playing with it as they got ready for work. He smiled at that. He wanted to have a happy life too. The teenage girl he had seen before who lived with her mother was now in college and much more mature and did not fuss with her mother all the time. Mac shook his head at himself. He should not be watching everyone. He was surprised that they had not seen him by now.

Mac sat down on the sofa and waited for Maria. She soon came out dressed in a pink jogging suit with a white t-shirt and her hair was in a pony tail. Mac smiled as his heart did what it usually did when he saw her. "You're so beautiful," he blurted out.

Maria smiled. "Thank you." She felt almost shy at the way Mac was looking at her.

Mac walked over to her and kissed her. "I love you," he said.

Maria was surprised at that and did not know what to say. Mac could see the surprise on her face. "I mean it," he said. "I just wanted to say it."

Maria stood there a moment trying to absorb that as Mac went to the door. "Let's go," he said and held out his hand to her.

Maria put her hand in his and they headed out. Mac noticed how quiet she was. "I hope I didn't scare you," he said.

"No, you didn't," Maria replied. "I was just surprised."

"I know we haven't known each other long but it gives me great happiness that you're here with me." Mac looked at her. "I need you here with me."

Maria felt like her heart was pounding and she wondered if Mac could feel it in her hand as he was holding it. She thought she must surely be blushing. "I am happy to be here with you too," she said, thinking that sounded corny. She had told him that he did not scare her, but she thought she might be a little scared. They were from totally different places. What if he got bored with the country? She did not think she could move to a place like this. It was so big and she did not know anything about getting around in a city like this.

Mac looked at Maria. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I'm just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Well, what if you got bored with the country?" Maria looked into Mac's eyes and she saw his expression change to one of worry.

"I don't think I will," Mac said. "I'm ready to have something else besides a fast paced life."

"I don't think I could ever survive in a city like this."

"You don't have to worry about that. I don't intend to ever live here again."

Mac looked up at the buildings and the strip of sky that could be seen. "I want to see the open sky and watch the sun come up over the mountains," he said. He looked at Maria. "And I want to share that with you."

Maria was overwhelmed. She liked Mac a lot, she knew that, but she was not ready to start thinking about living together or anything like that. "There are so many things we haven't talked about," she said.

"Well, we have all morning to talk."

Maria looked at Mac and the tender look in his eyes. She smiled. "We do, don't we?"

"I don't have a thing to do right now."

They talked as they walked. Mac told her about living in the city and more about working in the lab. Finally, they got to Mac's favorite diner. He opened the door and they went in. Mac smiled as he watched Maria walk in front of him. He shook his head at himself. He thought she might slap him if she saw him looking at her like that. Then again, how did he know what she was thinking when she was behind him? Mac almost scolded himself. He could not justify his own actions by someone else's. He tried not to smile as Maria sat down facing him.

Maria noticed a slight grin on Mac's face. "What?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Mac asked as he sat down across from her.

"You're smiling."

"I'm happy. I enjoy being with you."

"I enjoy being with you too."

The waitress came and took their orders and brought them some orange juice. Mac sipped his orange juice and leaned on the table. "What kind of ranch house do you think I should build?" he asked.

Maria considered that. "Well, I guess that would be according to how you want it to look. Do you want brick or logs or stone?"

Mac scowled as he thought about that. "To tell you the truth, I haven't even thought about it that much. I've had my mind on this case and…" Mac stopped himself before he said "and you". "I guess I will be able to think about it more when I get this case out of the way.

"I guess a case like that is a lot of pressure."

Mac nodded. "It is."

Mac sipped his orange juice and thought about the fact that he was supposed to have lunch with Jo today and tell her that he had started a relationship with Maria. He was not sure he wanted to do that. He did not even know how this relationship would go yet. Maria had acted strange when he told her that he loved her. He looked at Maria. "What did you think when I said that I love you?" he asked.

Maria looked at him a moment. She had been hoping that he would not bring that up again right now. "I don't know," she said.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just wanted you to know how I feel." He paused a moment. "I don't want to beat around the bush about it."

Maria smiled. "Is that a city term?" she asked.

Mac chuckled. "No. I guess that is something I learned from…Jo. She's from the South."

"My mother always said to just cut the bush down and get it out of the way."

"I guess I did."

"Yes, you did."

Mac thought he had made a mistake by telling her that already. "So, do you want to go and see the Statue of Liberty today?" he asked.

"Yes, I would love that."

"I'll take you over to Coney Island too and Staten Island."

Maria smiled. "This will be a day of fun?"

"Yes, but first I have to give my landlord notice that I am moving out. I told him before but I have to make it final and I have to get some boxes to pack everything up and get some movers."

"That might take all day."

"I will pack up tomorrow. Today, we're going to have some fun."

When they were done eating, they got a cab back to Mac's apartment. Mac stopped by his landlord's apartment to let him know that he was moving out. He had already paid the month's rent and it would stay with the landlord. After that, they went to Mac's apartment. "I don't guess I have a whole lot to pack up," he said. He looked at Maria. "I'm not a packrat."

"I am," Maria replied. "I have an attic full of stuff that I should sort through and get rid of it."

"When I was in the Marines, I couldn't keep up a bunch of stuff because I moved a lot and I guess I just never got in the habit of keeping stuff."

"My mother used to tell us that we needed to buy a shed to put our stuff in," Maria said with a laugh. "We had a whole room packed full and even stuff in the barn."

"My sister was like that," Mac said. "Why do women want to keep all that stuff?"

"Memories and we might give our old dolls to our own daughter one day."

"Oh." Mac nodded. "I guess that would be a good thing."

Mac looked at Maria and reached for her hand. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. He gave her several light kisses and then looked into her eyes. "I think I'll change before we go," he said.

"I will too," Maria replied. "I want to wear jeans to run around in."

Mac went into his room and waited while Maria passed through to go to her room. He sighed and fell on the bed. Why did he tell her he loved her? He should have waited. He could see that uncertainty in her eyes. He had scared her and now he could not undo it, but she might as well know how he felt so that if she decided she loved him, she would not be afraid to say it. He would not say it anymore unless she said it first. Mac rolled his eyes at himself. He thought he was just being a big chicken. He did not want to tell Jo about Maria and he was backing off from that relationship too.

Mac got up and got into some blue jeans and a blue t-shirt and put on a light jacket. It was still chilly out there and it would be really chilly down there at the harbor until it warmed up outside a little. He took a backpack from the closet. He would take some stuff along and they could put their jackets in the bag when it got too hot for them. He went into the kitchen and put two bottles of water in the pack and a first aid kit. He supposed he was a little paranoid but he wanted to have what they needed. After all, they would be gone most of the day.

Maria changed into a blue t-shirt and blue jeans, not knowing that Mac was wearing almost the same color. She looked in the mirror. He had told her that he loved her. She could not help but feel nervous. Although they had spent some time together and had talked a lot, she barely knew him. She had to admit that there was more between them than just a friendship. She had found herself looking for him the day she met him and wondering if he would come to the salon, and then she had really looked for him after they ate lunch together. Her heart had jumped every time the bell on the door rang wondering if it was him coming in.

Maria took the rubber band off her hair and then braided it. Her hair was thick and full of body. She had even used straighteners on it before but it did not work. Her hair looked like she had gotten a wave in it but she never had…her hair was like that on its own. She finished her braid and looked in the mirror. She thought she looked better with it in a braid. She just hoped the braid was straight and would stay in all day. She put a brush in her purse in case it did not. She knew she would have to get it back in that braid if it fell out because it would go crazy.

When she had her hair fixed, she put her jacket on. She thought Mac was probably ready by now but she knocked on the door anyway. She did not hear anything so she opened the door and saw that he was not in his room.

Mac was sitting on the couch looking at his mail when Maria came in there. "I'm ready," she said.

Mac looked up at her. "Okay," he said.

Mac stood up and picked up the backpack. "I'm taking this so we can put our jackets in it when it gets hot outside," he said.

"Can I add something to it?" Maria asked.

"Sure." Mac unzipped it and Maria put the brush in it and a small purse.

Maria turned around. "Does my braid look okay?" she asked.

Mac looked at it. "Yes, it looks fine."

Mac thought Maria seemed nervous. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," Maria answered. "I guess I'm just a little anxious. I've never been around this city before."

Mac smiled. "You'll love it and I'll make sure you don't get lost."

"Thank you."

They left the apartment and got a cab. Mac thought it would be a fun day and they could get to know each other better. They went over to the Statue of Liberty first. "You want to go up into the torch?" Mac asked and looked at Maria.

Maria was staring up at the Statue with her mouth open. She looked at Mac. "No, I don't," she said. "I could not stand that."

Mac smiled. "Are you afraid of heights?" he asked.

"No, I just…" Maria looked up at it again. "I…no, I don't want to go up there. I would rather just admire it from here."

Maria looked at him. "Are you laughing at me?" she asked as she saw his smile.

Mac tried to stop smiling. "No," he said.

"You are too."

"I would never. You just didn't say anything about this when we were on the plane."

"About what?"

"A fear of heights."

"I told you I am not afraid of heights." Maria put her hands on her hips. "You 'are' laughing at me. I see it."

Mac smiled. "I'm not, I just thought you wanted to go up there."

"No."

As they were getting out of the cab on Coney Island, everything was in full swing. "You want to ride the roller coaster?" Mac asked.

Maria looked at him. "You just asked that to see if I am afraid, didn't you?" she asked.

Mac almost smiled. "Are you?"

"No. I love roller coasters."

Mac was surprised. He had never liked roller coasters. Maria grabbed his hand. "Come on!" she said. "It's been a long time since I went to an amusement park!"

"Okay, I'm coming," Mac said.

As they were walking, Mac's phone rang. He looked at it and it was Jo calling. He frowned and ignored the call. He did not want to talk to her while he was with Maria. They played several games and ate a hotdog…Mac ate more than one. He hardly ever ate hotdogs but he loved them. He usually tried to avoid hotdogs because he could not eat just one but he supposed once a year would not hurt. Maria got a bag of cotton candy too. "Let's go ride the roller coaster," she said.

Mac looked at her surprised. "After we ate all that?" he asked. He put his hand on his stomach thinking of what that would be like. "I don't think I can."

"Oh, you're not afraid, are you?" Maria asked with an amused look.

Mac looked at her. "No, but I might throw up on you."

Maria laughed. "I don't think you will."

Just then, Mac's phone rang again. He looked at it and ignored the call again. Maria looked at him a moment. "Who is that you keep ignoring?" she asked. "Is it Jo?"

Mac nodded. "I don't want to talk to her right now," he said. "I already told her that I don't want a relationship with her. That should be enough."

"Are you afraid of people knowing that you are dating?"

Mac frowned. "No, I am not afraid. I just don't like it when people tease me or stare and wonder if I'm enjoying myself and all that. It's embarrassing. What business is it of theirs?"

Maria tilted her head. "Your friends should be happy for you," she said.

Mac started walking again. "They are, but…I don't know how to explain it. It's just different when your friends work in a crime lab. They're different."

"Oh." Maria had no idea what Mac meant by that. Her friends were always happy for her when something good happened. Her sisters were ecstatic that she had a boyfriend…she looked at Mac…although he was not a boy. He was definitely a man and he was different than anyone she had ever met. She knew he had been married before and she supposed it was different for him. He had told her about Claire and what happened. She could not imagine that and he had told her about being in the Marines and being in the war. He had talked about a lot of things when they were alone and just talking. She thought he had needed someone to talk to for a long time.

Mac noticed that Maria was quiet. He looked at her. "I'm sorry if I sounded harsh," he said. "And I don't mean to make you think that I'm ashamed of our dating."

"I didn't think that," Maria said. She looked up at the roller coaster and smiled. "Let's go." She smiled at Mac and ran for the roller coaster.

"Hey!" Mac called. He went after her.

Maria wanted to get his mind off what he had been thinking about. It did not matter if anyone around here knew they were dating. She looked back at him with a smile and saw him coming through the crowd. "Are you going to wait for me?" Mac asked.

"No!" Maria said and laughed as she tried to leave him behind again.

Mac had to smile as he got through the crowd. He finally got into an area that was clear of people and he hurried after her. Maria laughed as Mac caught her at the edge of the roller coaster fence. "I have you now," he said and kissed her neck.

Maria smiled at him. "Come on," she said and pulled his hand.

"I don't want to puke."

"Oh, it won't hurt you. We can always eat again."

Mac put his hand on his stomach. It seemed to know what he was about to do already. "What if I have to go home after this?" he asked.

"That will be okay."

Mac went on with her and they got in line for the roller coaster. He could not believe he was doing this. Maria looked at him. "Don't think about it so much," she said.

Mac shook his head. "I can't help it. I don't like roller coasters."

"But you have me to go with you this time." Maria hugged his arm.

Mac did not think that helped his feelings. He swallowed hard trying not to think about it and how sick he would be later. They got on the roller coaster and Mac gripped the bars. He would never want to admit how nervous he was.

When the roller coaster stopped after that terrifying ride, Mac thought he would not be able to stand up. He felt like he was still going in circles. Maria jumped out of her seat excited. "That was incredible!" she said. She looked at Mac who was still gripping the bars. "Come on."

Mac was trying to stop spinning. "I think if I get up right now I'll fall down," he said.

"You don't want to go again, do you?"

Mac looked at her. "NO!" He got out of the seat and stumbled out of the roller coaster. He felt like he was drunk or something. He sat down on a bench outside the roller coaster fence. He thought this was probably why the benches were here. He leaned over and rested his forehead on his knees. "Oh, I think I'm dying," he groaned.

Maria sat down beside him. "No you're not," she said.

Mac thought that was easy for her to say. She did not feel like she was spinning around in the air. Maria frowned. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have talked you into that."

"It's not your fault," Mac said. "I knew this would happen and I went anyway."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No."

Suddenly, Mac jumped up and ran over to the rail of the pier. Maria hurried over to him as he was leaning over the rail. She had never seen anyone actually turn green when they were sick but she thought Mac actually looked green. "Don't ever let me do that again," Mac said.

Maria was sure she would never try to talk him into anything like that again. She had not known he would get like this. Mac sat down beside the rail. "I don't think I can walk out of here," he said. "I don't think I've ever been this bad. Everything looks like it's spinning."

"Do you need an ambulance?" Maria asked.

"No…I don't know what I need."

One of the operators of the roller coaster came over to Mac. "Are you alright?" he asked as he squatted in front of him.

Mac looked at him. "Do I look alright?" he asked not caring if it sounded rude.

"Come on. I'll get you over here to the medical tent and they will give you something for this."

"This happens a lot?" Maria asked.

The man smiled. "More often than you think."

After Mac laid down in the medical tent, he felt a little better. He could not believe this happened. "I don't ever want to get on another ride," he said.

The nurse gave Mac something for the motion sickness and he was soon feeling better although he still felt funny. At least the world stopped spinning around him. "Thank you," he said as he sat up. "Wow, that was…terrible." He looked at Maria. "I can't ride stuff like that."

"I'm sorry," Maria said.

"I shouldn't have gone. I knew. It's my own fault."

"Are you ready to go now?"

Mac took a deep breath and blew it out. "I think so," he said.

They walked out of the tent. "I guess you want to go home," Maria said.

"I feel kinda sleepy," Mac replied. "But we don't have to go home. Actually, I think I'm hungry now."

"After all that?"

Mac looked at her and smiled. "Well, when it's over, it's over." He yawned. "But the medicine usually makes me sleepy."

"So what are we doing next?"

"Eating. I want to take you to one of my favorite restaurants and let you eat a New York style pizza."

Maria smiled. "I am ready."

By the time they were finished with their pizza, Mac was feeling better and they were laughing together and talking about things that had happened to them. Mac had told her some adventures he had in the Marines and she had told him some adventures she had in beauty school, like the time she spilled hair dye all over her "patient" who happened to be her teacher. "I thought she would flunk me for sure," Maria said. "But she gave me a chance to fix it and I got her hair looking pretty good. I can't say the same for her face though."

Mac smiled. "That must have been embarrassing."

"And her shirt! Oh, it was ruined."

They walked back to the apartment and went inside. "I think I need a nap," Mac said.

"I think I could use one too," Maria replied.

Mac moved closer to her and put his arms around her waist. "I enjoyed today," he said.

"Even being sick?" Maria asked.

"Well, except that."

Maria put her arms around his neck and they shared a long kiss. Mac thought he could hold her forever but he let go and looked around his apartment. "I guess after my nap, I will start packing."

"I'll help."


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Mac was awakened by the doorbell. He took a deep breath and turned over on his side. He had thought he was dreaming until he heard the doorbell again. He pulled the covers back and got up. "I'm coming!" he called. He rubbed his hair as he walked into the living room and yawned.

The doorbell rang again. "I'm coming!" Mac said. He got to the door and opened it. To his surprise, Jo was at the door. "Jo?"

"Yes," Jo said and put her hands on her hips. "It's Jo. What happened to you yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" Mac yawned again. He was not fully awake yet.

"We were supposed to have lunch?"

Mac looked at her a moment. "Oh."

"Oh."

Mac could see that Jo was just a little irritated at him. "I'm sorry. I was busy yesterday. I have a lot of packing to do."

Jo looked at her watch. "You're sleeping late, aren't you?"

Mac rubbed his hair. "I was up late packing last night. What's wrong?"

Jo folded her arms. "I just feel like you're avoiding me. And you haven't even invited me in."

"Jo, it's early in the morning."

Jo stared at him a moment. "Do you have a woman in there?"

Mac was surprised by that question. "What?"

"Do you have a woman in there?"

Mac frowned. "If I did, it would be none of your business."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I already told you that I don't want to start a relationship with you and that is final."

Jo was surprised by his bluntness. "Well, fine."

"I hate to be so blunt, but you just won't take my answers for the truth."

"I'm sorry. I won't bother you about it anymore. We are still friends, right?"

Mac rolled his eyes. "Of course, Jo."

Jo hugged him. "I'll miss you when you're gone."

"I'll miss you too, Jo." Mac hugged her. "I didn't have lunch with you yesterday because…Because I have something I wanted to tell you and I guess I'm a coward."

Jo looked at him. "What is it?" she asked.

Mac rubbed his face to make sure he was awake. "You were right," he said.

"About what?"

"I 'did' meet someone in Colorado."

"Really? You really like her?"

Mac nodded. "I think it's more than 'like'."

Jo was surprised. She put her hands on each side of her face. "Oh, Mac, I have acted so ridiculous," she said.

"No you haven't. I should have told you."

"But you 'are' working on a case over there, aren't you?"

Mac looked at her and nodded. "Yes, Jo, but I don't want to give away too much. I will have to give it to the FBI once I get evidence of it."

"Well, you know that Russ will help you."

"Yes, I know that. Maybe I should talk to him about this."

"I can contact him for you."

"Thanks." Mac looked at his watch. "I have to finish packing today and get those DNA results and then I have to go back tomorrow."

Jo nodded. "How dangerous is this situation?" she asked.

Mac looked at her. "Very," he admitted. "I just can't go into any details about it."

"I understand." Jo folded her arms. "So, what is your new flame's name?"

"Her name is Maria Norris."

Jo smiled at the way Mac said the woman's name. "What does she look like?" she asked.

"She has blond hair and blue eyes. She's beautiful and a lot of fun to be with and she owns a beauty salon and she sews dresses for the public. She has this house out there in town and lives by herself and she invited me over for lunch the other day and she had fixed this…" Mac looked at Jo who was smiling at him. "What?"

"Mac, I have not seen you this excited about anything in…well, I don't think I ever have. How did you meet?"

Mac remembered the day he met Maria. "We met in the door of the diner over there," he said. "She had the prettiest blue eyes…" Mac looked at Jo. "Well, she's pretty."

Jo laughed. "Uh huh."

"I shouldn't have even told you."

"Yes you should. I'm happy for you, Mac."

"Thanks."

Jo looked past Mac into the apartment. "Is she here with you?" she asked curiously.

Mac folded his arms. "What makes you think she's here?" he asked.

"Well, for one thing, you haven't asked me in and another thing…I couldn't find you anywhere yesterday. What were you doing? Showing her around the city?"

"Jo."

"Mac."

"Okay, yes, she is here, but not the way you think. She is sleeping in the other room."

Jo's smile grew wider. "You brought her to New York with you! Why didn't you bring her to the lab?"

"I didn't want to just surprise you."

"Don't worry about that, Mac. I'm okay but I do appreciate you not surprising me."

"She is a wonderful woman and…" Mac did not know if he wanted to just tell Jo everything.

"And?"

"I think we're going to be together for a long time."

"Just be happy, Mac."

"I am."

When Jo left, Mac closed the door and leaned on it. He blew out a breath. He had thought that would go a lot worse but he was glad Jo was not hurt…or at least she did not act like she was hurt. He yawned as he went back to his room and fell back on the bed on his stomach. He was not ready to get up yet. He did not care what time it was. Just then, he heard the other bedroom door click as Maria was opening it.

"Mac," Maria said.

Mac turned his head and looked at her. "Morning," he said.

"Who was at the door?"

"It was Jo. I told her about you. She wondered why I didn't bring you to the lab and let them all meet you."

Maria smiled. "I would love to see a crime lab," she said. "And meet your friends."

"Maybe I will take you there today when I got to pick up the DNA evidence. It should be ready today."

"I'll be ready."

Mac and Maria went out to eat breakfast and then packed up more stuff in the apartment and then they headed for the crime lab. "Are you nervous?" Mac asked.

"Maybe I am a little," Maria said. "What do you think your friends will think about me?"

"I think they will like you, and besides, it doesn't really matter what they think."

Maria smiled and leaned on Mac's shoulder. "You're quite a man, Mac Taylor," she said.

"Well, you're quite a woman."

"What happens when quite a man and quite a woman get together?"

Mac chuckled. "I guess they make quite a couple."

Maria laughed. "They might cause quite a stir."

Mac squeezed her closer to him. "You are quite a joker."

They soon arrived at the lab and went inside. Don was surprised to see Mac come in with a woman and they were holding hands. Mac felt almost shy but he wanted them to see Maria. "Hi, Mac," Don said. "How are you today?"

Mac could tell by the tone in Don's voice that he was amused. "I'm fine," he said. "Don, I want you to meet Maria Norris."

"Nice to meet you," Don said and shook Maria's hand.

Maria smiled. "Nice to meet you too," she said.

"I came to get my DNA evidence," Mac said.

"I'll take you up there," Don said.

They all went to the elevator and up to the lab. Danny, Lindsey and Sheldon were in the lab when they arrived. They were all glad to see Mac and were very interested in finding out who Maria was. Lindsey smiled at Mac as she found out that he had brought the woman all the way from Colorado with him. Mac tried not to feel shy or embarrassed but it was hard. "Where's Jo?" he asked.

"I think she's in her office," Danny replied.

"I'll be right back."

Mac left Maria with them to go and find Jo. She was not in her new office but in the old office. "Jo, I brought Maria by to meet everybody," Mac said. "I came to pick up the DNA analysis."

Jo looked at him. "You actually brought her here?" she asked with an agitated tone.

Mac frowned. "You told me that I should."

"I can't believe you, Mac Taylor. When were you going to tell me about her? When I came out there to Colorado to see you? And I would have found out that you were married and had two or three kids already?"

Mac stared at her a moment. "I thought you said you were okay with this."

"I lied! I didn't want to make a fool of myself there in your apartment building! I didn't think you would have the nerve to bring her here and rub this in my face!"

"Jo, that is not what I am doing."

"We're through, Mac Taylor! You get out of my office and don't ever speak to me again! And as far as Russ goes? You can talk to him yourself!"

"Don't worry, I will. Some friend you are!"

"Me? What about you! You would have let me come over there to Colorado to see you! I can't believe you!"

Mac backed out of the office. "So long, JO."

Jo would have slammed her office door if she could but she closed it. Mac turned and went back to the lab trying not to look angry when he walked in. He blew out a breath before he went in and tried to look cheerful. "So, Lindsey, is that DNA analysis ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Lindsey replied. She gave Mac the paper. "Whoever that is in the morgue is not the person whose hairs this was."

Mac stared at it a moment and then looked at Lindsey. "Thanks," he said. "This means that Teresa Lordsbury is still alive somewhere."

Maria put her hand over her mouth. "You think she's out there in that compound?" she asked.

Mac nodded. "Probably."

"But why?"

Mac shook his head. "I don't know but I am going to find out and I am going to find out why this girl was killed and made to look like Teresa had committed suicide."

Mac looked at the others. "It's good to see you guys," he said.

"Be careful, Mac," Lindsey said.

"I will. You guys keep this city going."

They all smiled. "Don't worry," Danny said. He looked toward Jo's office. "Jo is busy?"

Mac did not know how to answer that truthfully. "I guess," he said. He put his arm around Maria. "We'll see you guys. I have a lot to do today."

"Hey, how about we all go out for a drink tonight?" Don asked.

"No thanks," Mac said. "We have to get an early flight."

Mac and Maria left the lab and headed for the elevator. Maria looked at Mac. She knew there was something wrong and she wondered why Jo had not come into the lab. She knew that she was a good friend to Mac. They got into the elevator and started down. Maria looked at Mac. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No," Mac replied. "Everything is fine." He looked at her. "Really."

"Are you sure?"

Mac knew he could not hide anything from her. When people got close, they learned to read each other. "Jo is upset," he admitted. "She asked what I was going to do…let her come out there to Colorado and find out then? Well, I guess I should have told her before I ever came back here."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. Don't even worry about it. If she wants to be that way, I guess it will just be that way."

"But she's your friend."

Mac looked at her. "And she should be happy for me. I already told her that I didn't want to pursue a relationship with her and she should have accepted that. I can't help what happened. I don't want to talk about it either."

They left the elevator and went out and got a cab. "I guess I will have to buy myself a vehicle," Mac said. "Can't keep renting cars for the rest of my life."

Maria smiled. "I have a car. I hardly ever use it much because I can walk to work. You can use it a while until you get one."

"Thanks."

They went back to the apartment and began packing up the rest of Mac's stuff. The movers would be there later to gather it up. Mac did not have an incredible amount of stuff but he had his furniture and antiques. He had special boxes to put those in. He knew the movers would be able to get all this packed up in no time and then it would be on the way to Colorado…his new home. He looked around his apartment and looked out the window. It made him a little nervous to think about moving into a new area around new people. He had met several people in that town though and they were friendly people…nosey but friendly.

Maria put the last dishes in a box and closed it. She came into the living room. She was wearing blue jeans and a red checked shirt that looked like she would be working on a farm. She had her hair in a ponytail. She looked at Mac. "What?" she asked as she saw the smile on his face.

"Nothing," Mac said. "You just look beautiful no matter what you're doing."

Maria folded her arms and smiled at him. "You're terrible."

Mac smiled. "You wanted something?"

"I'm hungry. Are you trying to starve me?"

"Oh no. I ordered a pizza. It should be here in a few minutes and we don't have to stop working. We can take a break here and eat that pizza."

"Sounds good. I hope you got a Supreme."

"I did."

"Good." Maria turned and headed back to the kitchen.

Mac bit his lip as he watched her walk. He smiled to himself as he continued putting his music CD's and record albums into a box. He thought she was very beautiful and he loved her spunk. She had worked non-stop in this apartment and she did not mind helping him at all. They would go back to Colorado tomorrow and that would be it for this area of his life. He thought he should go and visit Mrs. Lordsbury again before they left and let her know that her daughter was not in the morgue. He would figure out where Teresa Lordsbury was and he thought he knew. He would get her out of there along with all those other girls out there.

When the pizza came, Mac and Maria sat on the couch in the living room and ate. "This isn't too bad," Maria said. "At least you don't have as much stuff as I have."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to have to pack yours up," Mac said.

Maria smiled. "Hmmm, you never know what might happen."

Mac smiled at that. "What the future may hold," he said.

Maria looked at Mac. "Would you ever want to know what is going to happen in the future?" she asked.

Mac considered that. "No," he said. "I would rather just do the best I can and live the best I can and not worry about things like that. If you knew what was going to happen, you wouldn't plan like you do, would you?"

"Probably not."

"I think it would be sad to know when you're going to die."

"It would. It would be a depressing world. Everyone would say 'well, I only have this long to live'."

Mac looked at Maria. "I guess tomorrow, my life will change a whole lot," he said.

Maria looked into his green eyes and smiled at the tender look she saw there. "I hope it will be better," she said.

"I'm sure it will."

When they were done eating, they finished packing up everything and then went to visit Mrs. Lordsbury. She was quite upset but Mac assured her that he was going to do something about the situation and that she needed to give him time. "I will get this mess straightened out," he assured her.

"You do that, Detective."

Mac and Maria went back to the apartment as the movers were loading everything up. When it was all loaded, Mac went back into the apartment to make sure there was nothing left. He stared at the apartment a few moments and then turned and left. His new life was waiting in Colorado. He and Maria would stay in a hotel room tonight and get their flight in the morning. He had rented a hotel room with two rooms and it was close to the airport so they would have an easier time getting there the next morning.


	12. Chapter 12

The plane landed in Colorado Springs the next day in the afternoon. Mac was so ready to get off the plane, he thought he would jump over everyone if he could. He had a lot to do and he had to get all his stuff into his apartment. The movers would be arriving the next morning. He would have to wait until after that to start his mission to the compound. He hoped he did not find anything too gruesome over there but he could not imagine anyone holding girls hostage like that without having a horrible reason. He just wanted the horror to end.

Mac and Maria got a bus to Pumpkin Flat. They were lucky that there was one going through there this day. "I am so ready to be home," Maria declared.

"I think I could sleep all day," Mac said.

"Your things won't arrive until tomorrow morning. What will you sleep on tonight?"

"The floor?"

"You could stay at my house. I have an extra room."

Mac looked at her. "Everyone would probably know I was staying there. I wouldn't want them to think we're…you know."

"I stayed with you in New York."

"Well, no one over there knew you."

"Oh Mac, people will always think what they want to think no matter what."

"I know but I can sleep on the floor." Mac looked at her. "It would be nice if I had something to make a pallet from."

Maria smiled. "I have just the thing and Mrs. Campbell might even have an airbed. If she doesn't, I'm sure Mr. Watson over at the General Store will have some."

"The General Store?"

"Yes. We have a General Store."

"I haven't heard of one called that in years."

"Well, it 'generally' has everything you need."

Mac chuckled. "Okay."

"Then we have the clothing store and the other types of stores and don't forget my shop. I can sew men's shirts and stuff too."

"That would be interesting to have a hand sewn shirt."

"Well, someone makes them all."

"But they're mass produced."

"Yes, and some people sit in those factories and sew those things all day."

"I worked in a factory a long time ago," Mac said. "It was my first job."

"Mine too," Maria replied. "It wasn't a shirt factory though. It was pants. I sewed the bands on."

"I worked in a shirt factory. I remember. I pressed the shirts. Each person sews a different part of the shirt." Mac looked at Maria. "I even worked in a pants factory once too. Back in those days, it was a way to get a job and make extra money."

Maria nodded. "We could go and get a job there when we needed money. They were good jobs. I remember bartacking."

"Oh, I remember that job. I even did that once. It made my neck hurt."

"My shoulders hurt."

"That stupid light wouldn't stay where it belonged because the machine vibrated," Mac said.

Maria laughed. "And we had to change that light bulb a lot, and those air hoses where you blew the machine off. Wow, there was a lot of fuzz in those places."

Mac laughed out loud. "I had so many strings on me by the end of the day, I could have made a whole new pair of pants," he said.

"And then blow your nose."

"Now, there aren't many of those jobs around. It's sad."

"Yes it is," Maria agreed. "We had a good time working at that place although it was hard work."

When they got to Pumpkin Flat, Mac felt relieved. He was tired of traveling. They got their luggage and stood on the sidewalk for a moment. "It is good to be home!" Maria said. She looked at Mac. "You want to come to my house for a while?"

Mac did not know anywhere else he could go. "Sure," he said.

Just as they were about to cross the street, someone yelled, "Mac Taylor!"

Mac looked around to see Jim coming toward him. He hurried over to Mac and shook his hand. "It is good to have you back," Jim declared.

"Well, thanks, Jim," Mac said.

"How were things in New York?"

"Fine. I got everything settled over there and my stuff will arrive tomorrow morning."

"That's good." Jim glanced around them. "Things happened while you were gone."

Mac stared at him a moment. "We'll talk later, Jim. I have to get some rest."

Jim nodded. "Well, I have that stuff you were wanting before. Whenever you get ready for it, you just drop in."

"I will."

Mac and Maria went on across the street. Mac could not help but notice that everyone watched him. He thought they must all know what was going on now and they all had a stake in it. He wondered just how many girls were over there in that place. They were all expecting him to stop this mess…and he intended to do just that.

Mac followed Maria over to her house and they went inside. "Are you sure you don't want to just sleep here?" she asked.

Mac set his suitcase down. "Well, I would but are you sure you would want me to?" he asked.

"It won't bother me." Maria smiled. "Come on. I'll show you my extra room."

Mac reluctantly conceded and followed her to the other room. The room was a pretty big room and it had a bed with a crocheted bedspread on it. It was white and had yellow decorations in the middle. Mac had not seen an afghan like that in years either. "Looks comfortable," he said.

Maria pulled the covers back. "I want to make sure there are no spiders in the bed," she said.

Mac scowled. "Spiders?"

"Yes. We have problems with spiders here a lot."

Mac went over to the bed and looked under the covers himself. He did not see any spiders or any other foreign creatures. He could not stand spiders. "I hate spiders," he said.

"So do I, but they are a part of life in the country," Maria said.

"They are in the city too but I remember the time I was spending the night at my grandmother's house and a spider crawled up on my pillow. I almost jumped across the room."

Maria laughed. "I didn't think you were afraid of anything."

"Well, if you let a spider get on me, you'll know how well I can dance and move."

Maria laughed more. "That is hilarious."

"Those things can kill you."

"I don't like them either but I always thought men were the tough ones and were supposed to kill the bugs for us."

"Hmmm, isn't that sexist?"

"Not to me. If I see a spider in there, I'm going to yell for you to come and get him."

Mac smiled. "I might be hiding in the closet."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that. They like to hide in there and always make sure there are none in your clothes before you put them on."

Mac's mouth dropped open as he watched Maria walk to the door. "I'll get supper started," she said.

Mac watched the door close and then looked around the room. He could not stand the thought of spiders being in his clothes and stuff. He got down and looked under the bed but he did not see any spiders. He went into the bathroom and checked under the toilet seat to make sure no spiders were in there. He had even heard of that.

Mac washed his hands and went into the kitchen where Maria was busy fixing supper. "Can I help?" Mac asked.

"I usually don't like anyone helping me, but you can if you want," Maria said. "I want to make hamburgers but we'll have to go to the store first. I don't have any meat."

"Let's go then."

Maria got her car keys and purse. "We can go in the car. I don't want to walk."

"Good."

They went over to the General Store where the owner, Karl Watson sold fresh meat and vegetables as well as fruit. "Hello, Maria," he said as Mac and Maria came in. "How was your trip?"

"It was great," Maria said. "New York is quite a big city."

"I'll bet."

Maria hugged Mac's arm. "Have you met Mac Taylor yet?" she asked.

"No, I haven't," Watson said. "But I have heard of him." He shook hands with Mac. "Nice to finally meet you."

Mac shook his hand. "This is a nice town," he said.

"I have everything you need and if I don't, I can order it."

"That's good to know."

"We need some ground beef," Maria said. "About a half pound."

"Coming right up," Karl replied.

Mac looked around the store while they waited. It was not a big store but it was stocked with plenty of different foods and other things as well. Mac looked in a box that looked like it had dirt on it and there were peanuts in it. He picked one up and looked at it. Maria walked up beside him. "Those are fresh," she said.

"Mmmm," Mac said. "I think I will buy some of those. I love fresh peanuts and stuff." Mac smiled. "I remember when my grandfather would plow up those potatoes and that fresh dirt smelled so good."

"Oh, don't remind me of that. It makes me want to go home."

Mac smiled. He bought a pound of the peanuts and Maria got the ground beef and they headed back to her house. When they got there, Mac thought he would rather eat the peanuts but since Maria wanted to make the hamburgers, he thought he would go ahead and eat one. "I'll have the peanuts for dessert," Mac said. "We can sit outside and eat them."

"Sounds good to me," Maria replied.

They fixed the hamburgers and sat at the table. As they ate, Mac thought about the task that he would soon be taking on. He looked at Maria and hoped that he would get to come back to her. He knew how dangerous it would be when he went into that compound.

Maria looked at Mac a moment. "What are you thinking about?" she asked as she noticed his silence.

"The case," Mac replied. "There are a lot of things that I don't know and it's going to be dangerous."

"What can we all do to help?"

Mac shook his head. "I'll give you Don Flack's number and if anything happens, you need to call him and let him know," he said. "I'm going to contact someone in the FBI and I will give you his number too but it would be better if you call Don."

"Mac, don't get killed."

"I don't intend to but I have to get in there somehow."

"Can't the FBI do something?"

"Not without some sort of evidence that this is going on. It takes more than the word of people who might have someone in there."

"But you have evidence that the body is not the woman that they said committed suicide and the ME even said that she didn't commit suicide."

"Don't worry. I will get in there and out before they know I was there."

"I hope so, Mac. I don't want you to leave me."

"I won't."

After they finished eating, they went out on the back porch to watch the sunset while they ate the peanuts. Maria got a bucket and set it in front of the swing to throw the shells in. "What will you do tomorrow?" Maria asked.

"I'm not sure," Mac said. "I have to plan my strategy because this sheriff is not stupid. He's very wise or he could not have gotten this town in this shape."

"I agree."

"I will just have to be wiser."

"What can we all do to help you?"

Mac considered that. "Pray." He looked at Maria.

"I can do that," she said. "I don't want you to get killed."

"Even if something happens to me, I want you to know that I love you."

Maria stared into his eyes. "I love you too, Mac," she said. She moved over to him and kissed him.

Mac pulled her to him with his hand in her soft hair and lingered in that kiss. He felt like they were lost in the clouds somewhere. He looked at her as the kiss ended. He stroked her hair. "So soft," he said.

Maria touched Mac's hair and smiled. "What?" Mac asked.

"You have curly hair, don't you?" Maria asked.

Mac held her hand in his. "How can you tell?"

"I'm a beautician. Is that why you keep it short?"

Mac nodded. "I don't want my hair to curl up."

"I bet it's so wavy and sexy."

"Wavy, yes, but I don't know about sexy."

"Oh, I could do all kinds of stuff with it." Maria ran her fingers through his hair and caressed his face. She kissed him again.

Mac thought he could sit there all night. He thought he was lovesick. He grabbed her in his arms and kissed her passionately. He loved the feeling of his arms around her and Maria loved it too.

They stared at each other a moment. "I guess I should turn in," Mac said. "I need to get some rest."

"Me too," Maria replied. "I have to open the salon tomorrow."

Mac touched her face and then stood up. They went into the house. Mac looked at her a moment. "Good night," he said.

"Good night."

Mac went into his room and closed the door. Maria took a deep breath. She did not think she had been breathing during all that. She hoped nothing happened to him on this mission because she wanted to see how far their relationship could go. She wanted to marry him and have his baby. She hoped he wanted that.

Mac got ready for bed and got into the bed after he inspected it for spiders again. He stared at the ceiling as he thought of Maria and thought of his mission. He wanted to marry her and take her to live at his ranch when it was ready. He hoped that she would want that. He would definitely want her to help him design the ranch because he wanted her to have what she wanted. He had to get this case out of the way first. He would call Russ to let him know what was going on. Russ would get something done about all this. Mac thought he should probably call him before he went to sleep but he supposed tomorrow morning would be soon enough since he could do nothing until the next night or the night after that. He had to have time to plan. He had not even driven by the plantation and paid enough attention to know what it looked like. He would have to do that tomorrow too…


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, Mac got up early and left Maria a note and left the house. He went over to the diner and ate breakfast and then went to his apartment. He had to wait for the movers to get there with his stuff. He set his luggage down in the apartment. It seemed awful empty with nothing in there. He looked at his watch. It would be a while before the truck arrived so he had time to drive out past that plantation to pay more attention to what it looked like.

Mac went back to Maria's house. She was up now. "Morning," he said. "Sorry I ran off but I had to get up early and I didn't want to disturb you."

"That's alright," Maria replied.

"Can I use your car this morning? I want to drive out and look around."

"Sure." Maria got the keys and gave them to Mac. "Be careful out there. I don't know what he might do if he saw you or suspected that you were snooping."

"I won't be snooping." Mac kissed her. "I'll see you later."

"I'll be at the salon. I have some appointments this morning."

"Okay."

Mac went out and drove out past the compound. It was definitely big. He could see a guard tower on each side of the gate and he could even see other guards sitting on the wall. The wall was about eight feet tall and was solid concrete. Mac could not help but notice that the guards were not even wearing uniforms. Why would they need so many guards for a bunch of little girls? Mac knew this was a bad situation and it had to be stopped. He got his phone and dialed Russ's number. He had kept it after they worked together on a case. He explained the situation to him.

"Can you prove this is going on?" Russ asked.

"I will be able to soon," Mac replied. "I intend to pay them an unexpected visit."

"You know he can arrest you for trespassing and any other charges he wants to bring against you if he catches you in there."

"Yes, I know it, but the people in this town know what is going on and they have been too afraid to tell it or to try and do anything about it. I want to discover the source of all that fear too."

"Maybe there have been other 'suicides' over there that need to be investigated."

"Probably too late to prove that they didn't commit suicide."

"Probably. You be careful and keep me informed."

"I will."

Mac put his phone away and drove on out further to turn around. As he was driving by the compound again, he saw blue lights in his rearview mirror. Mac knew he was not breaking any laws but he pulled over. He saw the sheriff get out of his car and walk up to his car. He took his shades off as he realized Mac was in the car. "What are you doing driving Maria's car?" he asked.

"She let me use it today," Mac said. "Is there a problem?"

Gillespie knew he could not manipulate Mac. "No. I just wondered what she was doing out here."

"It's a free highway, isn't it?"

Gillespie tried to avoid glaring at Mac. He wanted to know what he was doing out here driving past the compound. "This is a prison out here," he said. "Why don't you just go on back to town?"

"I believe that's where I was headed." Mac cranked the car. "If that's all, I'm going on."

"See you around."

Mac watched the sheriff in the rearview mirror as he pulled away. He saw the glare on Gillespie's face. He knew that sheriff had intended to harass Maria. It made him even angrier. He drove back to town and went to the gun shop.

Jim was behind the counter when Mac walked in. "Morning, Jim," Mac said.

There was another customer in the shop. Mac walked over to the counter and leaned on it. Jim looked at him a moment. "So, what's going on?" Mac asked softly.

"You have to be careful who you talk in front of," Jim replied quietly. He took a box of shells off the shelf. "There's those shells you wanted," he said as though he were making a sale.

Mac knew Jim was trying to keep the other customer from being suspicious. "I think I'll take a gander at those hunting knives you have there," he said. "It's been a long time since I was on a ranch and I need to be prepared when my ranch is built."

"That will probably be several months," Jim said. "What are you going to raise out there?"

"Oh, I thought I would raise a few cattle and maybe some horses, all the normal stuff you see on a ranch."

Jim smiled. "You ever need any help out there, you just ask."

"I will. I'm sure I can use a lot of advice. I have never actually owned my own ranch. I think I want a big house."

"You planning to expand?" Jim asked with a smile.

Mac looked into the knife display and smiled. "I think I might," he said.

"She's a pretty woman and a nice one."

"She is."

The other person in the store came over to the counter. He laid a belt on the counter to pay for it. He looked at Mac. "You keep company with Maria, don't you?" he asked.

Mac looked at him. "I don't believe I know you," he said.

The man offered his hand. "Bob Gillespie," he said.

Mac shook his hand. "You related to the sheriff?"

"Yeah. I'm his son."

"Oh."

Bob looked at Mac a moment. "Don't you think Maria is a little young for you?" he asked.

Mac scowled. "What business is that of yours?" he asked. "I think that is between her and me."

"She should have a young man."

"I can see you have your father's charm."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nosey."

Bob glared at Mac. "My father is the sheriff. He has a right to be nosey."

Mac looked at him. "Well, if we're talking about age, don't you think Maria is a little old for you?"

"I'm twenty-five. She's a beautiful woman."

"Yes, she is but I guess she has a right to make up her own mind on who she wants."

Bob paid for his purchase and then looked at Mac. "See you around," he said.

Mac almost snickered at that. It was the same thing the sheriff had said when he left him. Bob left the store and Mac continued looking in the knife case. "What are you doing?" Jim asked. "Trying to make an enemy?"

Mac looked at him. "No," he said. "It's none of his business if I am seeing Maria."

"He'll be watching you now. That's what he does. He watches people to see what he can see them doing to tell his father."

"Is that how he keeps this town under control?"

"Partly. Everyone knows he is snooping around somewhere."

"You said things happened while I was gone. What happened?"

"That sheriff went around to some of the people and 'reminded' them of what they had at stake. He even came over here wanting to know what you and I had talked about while you were in here."

Mac frowned. "And what did you tell him?"

"I told him we talked about ranching. What else? I don't know if he believed me but he knew he would not get any more out of me. I don't know about Lawrence over there though. I hope that sheriff is not on to you but you're lucky you took Maria with you to New York. He would have tried to get her if you had left her here."

Mac's frown deepened. "Why?" he asked.

Jim heard that angry tone in Mac's voice. "He would get you under control like that," he said. "You better watch that little lady."

Mac could feel his rage mounting. He took a deep breath and tried to blow out some of his anger but it did not help much. "I'm going to sneak into that place either tonight or tomorrow night," he said.

"You better make sure that little pip squeak is not following you when you go," Jim warned. "He is in this up to his eyeballs and he gets 'benefits'."

Mac did not think he wanted to hear anymore. "Okay," he said.

Jim leaned on the counter and shook his head. "I just feel sorry for those little girls," he said. "And they 'are' little girls no matter how old they are. What is this going to do to them?"

Mac thought he could not think of this much more or he would get so mad he might go and confront that sheriff. He picked out the biggest hunting knife and a Swiss Army Knife as well. "I want these two," he said. "And I want to go ahead and get the rifle."

Mac paid for his things after Jim ran his security check. Mac took his stuff and walked out onto the sidewalk. He looked up and down the street. Some people glanced at him and some did not seem to notice him. He crossed the street and went into Maria's salon. He was bombarded by the smells of a beauty salon. Maria was giving someone a perm and the air was filled with the smells of that as well as hairspray and other salon products, but what Mac noticed most was that Bob was there leaning on the counter talking to Maria.

Bob looked around at Mac and glared at him. He turned back to Maria. "So, do you want to go out and have some fun with us tonight?" he asked.

Maria was relieved that Mac had come in. "No," she said. "Mac and I have plans, don't we, Darling?"

Bob's frown had deepened at that term of endearment that Maria used. He looked at Mac. "Yes, we do," Mac said. "We're going to be busy."

Bob looked at Maria. "Well, if you ever get bored at an older man, you can look me up," he said. He turned and brushed by Mac making sure to give his shoulder a glancing shove as he walked out.

Mac watched Bob walk away from the salon and then he looked at Maria. She was trying to concentrate on rolling the woman's hair who was sitting in her salon chair. "Oh, that little jerk," the woman said. "I would like to turn him over my lap and give him a red bottom."

Mac almost laughed at that. Maria could not help but smile. She looked at Mac. "I'm glad you're here," she said.

"When can we talk?" Mac asked.

"Around Noon I'll take lunch."

"Okay. I'm going over to the apartment. The truck should be arriving soon."

"Okay." Maria got the roller into the woman's hair and got it secured and went over to Mac. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him just wanting to feel his arms around her. "I was scared, Mac," she whispered.

"Don't you worry," Mac said. "If he touches you, he won't be able to touch anyone for a long time when I'm done with him."

Maria looked into Mac's eyes. She knew he meant that. "You be careful."

"I will. You stay here until I come to get you for lunch."

Maria stare at him a moment. "Why?"

"I'll talk to you later." Mac touched her face and kissed her lightly. "I'll be back."

"Okay."

Mac left the salon. He could see Bob on the other side of the street now talking to Jim. Mac glared at him and turned to head for his apartment. He did not like to see someone make people live in fear. He went up to his apartment and put his stuff that he had just bought in there except his knife. He put it on his belt and put the Swiss Army Knife in his pocket. He had a gun rack in his belongings that were coming so he would have a place to put his rifle when it got there.

When the moving truck arrived in town, everyone knew it. It was not every day that they saw a truck come into town like that, especially one that turned onto the back street. Mac was waiting when they arrived. He only had to let them in and they would bring all the boxes in and all the furniture. It had not been cheap to move everything.

At Noon, Mac remembered that he had to go and get Maria from the salon. He went across the back street and to the back of the salon. He knocked on the back door and soon, Maria opened the door. "You ready?" he asked.

"I'm still giving this perm," Maria said. "It only has a few more minutes."

"Okay. I'm still waiting for them to get everything into the apartment."

"Oh, don't you just hate moving?"

Mac nodded. "Yes, I do but there's no other way to get anywhere one wants to be."

"I'll come over there when I am done in here."

"Lock up the shop."

"Okay."

Mac waited for her to close the door back and then went back to his apartment. They had to bed set up now and they were bringing the living room furniture in as well as the other bedroom furniture. Mac was glad he did not have a lot of boxes to unpack. The furniture was what took the longest to bring in, as well as appliances.

At around 1:00, Maria came over. She sat down on the sofa. "Oh, it's good to sit down," she said.

"You are on your feet all day, aren't you?" Mac asked.

"Just about."

Mac smiled and pulled her feet up on the couch on his lap and pulled her shoes off. Maria was surprised that he started to massage her feet. She laid her head back and sighed. "That feels so good, I might not go back to work," she said.

Mac chuckled. He remembered that Claire always liked her feet rubbed. He always thought of her when he got in situations like this. It was hard not to think of her. He had loved her and he still did but he knew he should move on in life. Maria looked at him. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes," Mac said. "Why?"

"You're awfully quiet."

"Just thinking." Mac looked at her. "I am going over to that compound tomorrow night. I want you to stay with Mrs. Campbell until I get back."

"You think he's going to come after me."

"Jim said it was a good thing you went to New York with me. He believes he would try to use you to get me under his control."

Maria frowned as she realized just how serious this situation was. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to get pictures and send them to the FBI agent and he will do something about this. Once he gets those pictures, he can get a warrant from a federal judge and come over here and clean house."

"Do you know what the sheriff or Bob would do to you if they caught you in there?" Maria asked.

"Kill me?" Mac asked and looked at her.

"They might do worse. There have been rumors that they killed people around here and disposed of them and no one knows where they are or anything. I've heard a lot of stuff since all this started."

"I'm sure you have. I think the whole town knows about this except the people who are newcomers."

"When do you stop being a newcomer?" Maria asked.

Mac considered that. "I don't know," he said. He looked at her. "I don't think you're considered a newcomer anymore. Everyone has had good things to say about you."

Maria smiled. "I suppose they know we're seeing each other."

"Of course." Mac looked at her feet. "I wonder what they would think if they knew I was sitting here rubbing your feet."

"I don't know but I'll bet the women would be jealous and the men would want to punch you."

Mac laughed. "You don't think they rub their wife's feet?"

"I don't know."

The movers soon had everything in the apartment. Mac thanked them and then went inside and closed the door. Maria had her hands on her hips. "I have some appointments this afternoon," she said. "And we haven't had lunch."

"I know," Mac said. "Why don't we go to the diner?"

"Sounds good to me."

Mac could not help but notice Bob standing on the street staring at them as they walked to the diner. Mac stared at him with his unwavering stare until he turned and walked back down the street. As Mac and Maria walked in, they were greeted with a "Hey!"

Maria smiled. "Ryan," she said and walked over to a guy who was tall and had blonde hair and blue eyes and a bright white smile. He hugged Maria. "How have you been?"

"Been working my butt off," Ryan replied. "I hear you've been to the big city."

"I have. It was awesome."

Another guy stood up and smiled at Maria. He had black hair and blue eyes. "Hey," he said and hugged Maria and kissed her on the cheek.

Mac felt like he was almost out of place. These guys were more Maria's age. She turned to him and hugged his arm. "This is Mac Taylor," she said.

Ryan and Bruce looked at Mac. "We've heard of you," Ryan said and offered his hand to Mac. "Nice to finally meet you."

"You too," Mac said and shook their hands.

"Won't you join us?" Bruce asked.

"Sure," Maria replied.

Mac and Maria sat down at the table with Ryan and Bruce. Mac felt totally out of place. He supposed he would have to get used to being around people younger than him if he was going to be with Maria. She had friends and he could not expect her not to ever be around them.

"I hear you're going to build a ranch," Ryan said.

"Yes," Mac replied.

"Well, if you want to hire any ranch hands, you can hire me. I would love to work on a ranch again."

"You know ranch work?"

"Absolutely. I used to work on my dad's ranch and I can handle it."

"I'm sure I'll have to have some help."

"You just call me. I'll help you any way I can but I work out there at that lumber mill. Right now, we are working overtime. I'm lucky to be here right now."

"He never stops talking," Bruce said referring to Ryan. "You can tell he works all the time because he can't talk while he works so he has to make up for it."

"Aw, shut up," Ryan said.

"He's always been that way though. He used to talk so much, he couldn't stay out of trouble in school. The teacher wanted to tape his mouth."

Mac smiled and chuckled at that. The waitress came to take their orders. Ryan talked to her too and flirted. Mac thought Ryan must be the most outgoing person in this town. He had the looks to go with it too. Mac could not understand why Maria would choose him over this guy or even over Bruce for that matter.

"You know what?" Ryan began. "I went fishing last Saturday and I caught the biggest catfish you ever saw."

"Then where is it?" Bruce asked.

"He broke the line."

"Well, then you didn't 'catch' him."

"Yes I did. I saw him."

Bruce laughed. "You have to get him in the boat and take a picture of him before it qualifies as 'catching'."

"He had a head as big as yours," Ryan said. "Wow, that fish could have fed us all."

"He would have probably been tough."

"You're kidding! That fish would have been great filleted and cooked on a grill or anywhere else you want to cook it."

"You're full of bologna."

"Yeah, I probably am. I have to eat a lot of bologna since I didn't get that fish."

Mac almost laughed out loud at that. Maria smiled at him. "You see why they're such good company now," she said. "They're a couple of jokers."

Mac shook his head. "I remember when I was in the Marines," he said. "There were guys like them. They kept the rest of us going."

Ryan leaned on the table. "I've heard about your case," he said quietly. "I hope Teresa is still alive."

"Me too."

Just then, Bob walked in. He looked at them. "Hey, Bob," Ryan said loudly. "You still running around snooping?"

"Why don't you shut up, Ryan?" Bob asked.

"Why? You gonna go and tell your daddy? You always were a tattle tale."

Mac was surprised that Ryan talked to him that way. Bob just went to the counter. Mac thought everyone was waiting for him to get this situation straightened out. He was nervous about it but he had to try even if he had to risk his life.


	14. Chapter 14

As the sun came up the next morning, Mac was sitting up in bed. He was thinking about what he would be doing that night. He had to plan what he would do and what he would wear too. Between town and the compound, there was a big pumpkin field as well as a corn field. That would give him some cover as he was going that way. He had to go the whole way on foot. He also had to make sure Bob Gillespie did not follow him or see where he was going. He was sure the man would be very interested in what he was doing today.

Mac got out of bed and looked out the window at the sunrise. This was his first night to spend in his new apartment. He hoped it would not be the last as well. The sunrise was beautiful over the mountains and he was glad he had taken this apartment. He had a window seat at the window and he could sit there and watch that sunrise. He definitely wanted to make sure he had a window like this in his new home so he could watch this sunrise. He liked the way the land lay out there with rolling hills and mountains in the distance with not so much stuff out there to hide the sunrise or sunset. He had not gazed at the stars here yet but he supposed it would be a sight to see.

Mac got a shower and went into the kitchen. He wondered if Maria was up yet. He had insisted that she stay with him last night. She had slept in his other room. He had been concerned about Bob's intentions so he talked her into staying in his apartment. Jim had not warned him about that for nothing.

Mac looked around his kitchen. He had bought a few things the evening before so that he would have something to cook for breakfast. He had bought cereal too. He thought he would like to just eat that this morning. He did not feel like he had much of an appetite. However, he thought he better eat more than that to build up some energy for the task he had to do tonight. He took the eggs and bacon from the refrigerator and went over to the stove.

Just then, Maria walked in. Mac looked at her and smiled. "Morning," he said noticing her unkempt hair and the fact that she was in her robe.

"Morning," Maria replied. "You're up early."

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep."

"I guess not. You must be thinking about what you're about to do."

Mac nodded. "You hungry?" he asked.

"Yes." Maria walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek and put her arms around him to lean on his back. "You're so warm."

Mac smiled. "So are you," he said. He loved feeling her arms around him. He thought that was a feeling that was natural and everyone longed for it. It made him feel calmer. "I hope you like eggs and bacon."

"I love it," Maria said. She thought she could stand there all day with her arms around him. She loved feeling him breathing and his heart beating. She rubbed his back a moment and then went to the kitchen door. "I guess I will go and get dressed."

Mac was putting bacon in a pan. "I'll make some coffee too," he said for nothing better to say.

Maria left the kitchen. Mac thought he felt a lot calmer now. He got the bacon in a pan and went over to the sink to wash his hands. He looked out the window as he washed his hands. He was lucky he had a corner apartment so he could have a window in the kitchen. He was on the second floor so he could see over to Maria's house. He noticed Bob standing across the road from her house as though he were waiting. Mac glared at him but he smiled as he knew how to shove that guy's anger over the top. He would walk Maria to her shop from his apartment. That should let Bob know that he had no chance.

Mac put the coffee in the pot and then started on the eggs. He could not help but think of what he would be doing that night. He thought he might need someone else with him but he did not want to get anyone else into trouble or killed if he could not get out. He had been on dangerous missions when he was in the Marines and he knew how to push his fear aside, but he had to admit to himself that the fear was there. He had to be cautious to say the least. He had to figure out how to get over that wall without being noticed as well. The wall was 8 feet tall and he would have to have a rope or something to get over there. He might have to have someone to create a distraction. He knew Jim would do it if he asked him to.

Maria came into the kitchen. She had her hair in a braid now and was dressed in jeans and a red long sleeved t-shirt. It was starting to get a little colder now in the mornings. "Is this better?" she asked.

Mac smiled. "You're beautiful anyway," he said.

They ate breakfast and then Maria had to go to her shop. "I want to walk you over there," Mac said.

"If you insist," Maria replied.

Mac kissed her. "I don't insist, but I just want to."

They went outside and headed for the beauty salon. Maria's smile faded when she saw Bob standing outside her shop waiting. He frowned when he saw her coming from Mac's apartment with him. Mac tried to keep from smiling. "Good morning," he said loudly. "You on the prowl early this morning?"

Bob's anger almost got the best of him then. "I have a right to stand here if I want," he declared.

"Could be considered loitering," Mac said as they walked up to the door. "Oh, but I guess that doesn't apply to you since you're the sheriff's son."

Bob glared at him. He did not like it because Mac was not intimidated by him or his father. "You spent the night with him?" he asked turning his attention to Maria.

"I don't think that is any of your business," Mac informed him as he and Bob met in a glare almost nose to nose. "Why don't you get away from here and leave her alone?"

"Make me!"

Maria pulled Mac away from Bob. "Come on, Mac," she said. She did not want him to get in a fight with this guy. She knew what that would cause.

Mac let her pull him away but he would like to take that guy apart. "You afraid of me?" Bob asked.

Mac looked at him with a look that let him know the answer to that without him saying a word. "You better be afraid," Mac declared. "If you don't leave her alone, you're going to have more than you can handle."

"Is that a threat?"

"Yeah!"

"Mac, come on," Maria whispered.

Mac was angry and he did not feel like being calm. Bob came toward him and Mac wanted to lay him out but Maria held his arm tighter. "Back off," Mac said in almost a growl.

Mac pushed Maria into the shop as she got the door open. He closed the door and then went back toward Bob. "You better stay away from her," he warned.

Bob shoved him. "What are you going to do about it?" he asked.

Mac started back toward him but just then, Ryan yelled, "Hey, Mac!"

Mac looked to see Ryan coming across the street. He lived in the apartment building too. Mac glared at Bob who stared at him with a haughty look. Mac realized he was trying to start a fight with him and he had almost fallen for it. Ryan came over to him. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked.

Mac looked at him with green fire still showing in his eyes. "Nothing," he said.

Ryan looked at Bob. "Surely you're not jealous of Maria," he said. "I thought you have plenty of girls."

Bob glared at Ryan. "Why don't you stay out of this?" he asked.

"I don't want to. You know how nosey I am and besides that…" He put his arm around Mac's shoulders. "Mac here is my friend."

Bob glared at Mac again and then turned and left. Ryan looked at Mac. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Mac looked at him. "Nothing," he said.

Ryan followed him into the beauty salon as Maria opened the door. Mac was still angry and he had wanted to show that guy that he was not as big as he thought he was. Maria could see that Mac was angry. "I called Ryan because I knew you were going to get into trouble," Maria said.

Mac looked at her and his angry look softened a little. "I don't need bodyguards," he said.

"I wasn't being your bodyguard," Ryan informed him. "I was trying to keep you out of jail."

Mac frowned. He knew they were right. "He was trying to trap you," Maria said.

"I saw him standing out there waiting for you to come out of your house," Mac said. "He was just waiting there. He had been waiting there the whole time I was cooking breakfast!" Mac felt hot. He was angry. "He didn't know you were with me! He was waiting for you to come from your house!"

"It makes me mad too," Ryan said. "But it won't do any of us any good if they get you on assault! You're not in New York now." He looked at his watch. "I have to get to work. Don't worry about Maria. I will be watching over her while you're on your mission and Bruce will too as well as Jim."

"I'm going to have to have help," Mac admitted. "Somebody has to create a distraction so that I can get over that wall."

Ryan looked at him. "I can help you," he said. "I was in the Army. I know about dangerous situations. Jim will create a distraction. He's not afraid of them. You know, he was a Colonel in the Marines."

"What time do you get off work?" Mac asked.

"I get off at six tonight."

"I'll probably wait until Midnight to start this."

"I'll be ready. You don't have to do this alone. This is our town and we need to take it back."

"How did things get like this?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you sometime, but I have to get to work."

Mac nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't let him get you into something. He wants to pick a fight with you."

"I know it but I would like to lay him out."

"Maybe you'll get your chance tonight. He's going to be involved in this."

"Good. I want my chance at him."

Ryan looked at Maria. "You take care," he said.

Maria hugged him. "Thank you."

Ryan left. Mac sat down in a chair and folded his arms. "The more people who are involved in this, the more dangerous it is," he said.

"Mac, this is not something you can do alone," Maria said. "You have to have help."

"I realize that." He blew out a breath. "I just hope I get a chance at that guy, legally." He looked at Maria. "He won't keep getting away with this. I won't stand for it."

Maria just looked at him and went about her business of getting the salon ready for customers. She took the towels from the dryer and started folding them. "You know, there's no way he can get me from you," she said.

Mac looked at her. "That doesn't matter," he said. "That is not what this is about. He's not going to harass you."

"Oh, I know how men are. They see another rooster in their territory and they want to fight."

Mac stood up. "That is not it."

"Yes it is."

Mac frowned and went over to help her with the towels. "I don't like him hanging around you like that," he said. "He's a criminal."

Maria looked at him. "It's only natural for men to be jealous even if they know they have nothing to worry about," she said.

Mac rolled his eyes. "You're going to have it your way, aren't you?" he asked.

"I know I'm right."

Mac mumbled to himself as he continued folding towels. Maria smiled and giggled at him. Mac looked at her. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"You," Maria replied. She smiled at him and then became serious. "Don't you get killed. I love you, Mac."

Mac looked at her then. "I love you too," he said. "And I don't intend to get killed."

Maria walked over to him and kissed him. "You don't have to worry about anyone stealing me away," she said.

"I kinda figured that out after I met Ryan and Bruce."

Maria stared at him a moment. "What does that mean?"

"If you would choose me over them, then it must be love."

Maria smiled. "I do love you," she said. "I realize it now. I know I said it once before, but I think I mean it more this time, if that makes sense."

"Love grows." Mac held her hand in his and laced their fingers. "It's like a fire that you keep adding fuel to and it just gets bigger and bigger."

"Until it consumes you?"

Mac stared into her eyes. He thought he was already consumed. "Yeah. Something like that."

Maria could see the love in Mac's eyes. "I'm so glad you came to Pumpkin Flat," she said and kissed him again.

Mac laid down the towel he was folding and put his arms around her and they shared a long kiss. Maria wiggled in his arms and giggled when he kissed her chin and her neck. Mac smiled at her. "Does that tickle?" he asked.

Maria smiled and backed away from him. "We better finish these towels," she said with a smile.

Mac smiled as he looked at her flushed face. He started folding the towels again. "I'm going to the bank tomorrow to get my house started," he said. "There's a lot to getting a house built. I have to find a contractor and pick out a design or make one myself."

"Ryan could draw you one," Maria said. "He's a great artist. He works out there at that lumber mill and he is so talented. He designed Teresa's greenhouse and her house too."

Mac was surprised by that. "That's talented alright."

"He would do a good job for you. You tell him what you want and he will design it."

"I want you to help me design the house."

Maria looked at him. "I would love to. I've always dreamed of having a big kitchen and laundry room," she said. "And I love a big bathroom."

Mac was paying more attention to that than he let on. He wanted that house to be what she wanted too because he thought he would marry her. "I want a big bedroom so I can have a king sized bed," he said.

Maria smiled. "That would be nice too."

"There are a lot of things I want. I guess I'll have to have a barn."

"That is a must if you're going to raise animals. Have you ever lived on a farm?"

"No, but I visited my grandparents on one."

"It's a lot different living on one than visiting."

"I'm sure it is."

"Would you go up to visit my parents?" Maria asked.

Mac looked at her. "Sure," he said. He thought just as he was about to feel relaxed, that would get him all nervous again. "When?"

"Well, after you go on your mission."

Mac laid another towel on the pile. "Don't worry, Maria," he said. "Everything will be alright."

"I hope."

"Don't worry about me too much. I'm going to have help. I intend to get in there and send pictures to Russ as I go so that if…" Mac looked at her. "I'll get out."

"Mac, you know you could be killed. Don't try to sugar coat it."

"I just…" Mac sighed. "I know I could be killed, but I prefer to think I will be successful."

"Me too."


	15. Chapter 15

That evening, Mac was at Mrs. Campbell's house along with Maria, Ryan, Bruce and Jim. "We have to be careful who sees us," Jim said. "I've been steering around people to keep them from knowing there was something going on."

"Lawrence would tell it if he knew what we were doing," Ryan said. He looked at Mac. "He knows you could rescue his daughter, but he is scared to death of that sheriff and he has him afraid that he will kill her if he talks or tries to help."

"Yeah, he worked on him while you were in New York," Jim said.

"I didn't even see him when I went to my apartment," Mac said.

"He's probably trying to avoid you so the sheriff won't get suspicious and try to find out anything from him. He really wants this problem solved but his daughter is in there."

Mac frowned. He looked at Maria. "You stay here," he said.

"I will," Maria replied. "You be careful."

"I will."

Mac got his gear on and looked at Ryan who was standing ready. They were both wearing black clothes and a black hat on their head and had their faces painted black. Jim had provided all the equipment they needed. He had loaded it in his truck behind his shop and had brought it to Mrs. Campbell's house. Mac snapped the backpack strap around him. "I guess we're ready," he said.

"I'm ready when you are," Ryan said.

Mac looked at Jim. "Don't cause too much of a ruckus," he said. "Just enough to give us some time to get over that wall. We don't want you to get into any trouble."

"I know what to do," Jim said.

Mac nodded. "I know."

Mac looked at Maria. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too," she replied.

Mac turned and went out the door followed by Ryan and Jim. Bruce would stay there with Maria and Mrs. Campbell. Maria felt like she would cry. She looked at Mrs. Campbell. "I think he will be fine," Mrs. Campbell said. "He's quite a determined young man."

Maria smiled. She thought Mac thought he was old but everyone was young to Mrs. Campbell. "He is," she said. "He's a good man."

Mac and Ryan got out into the corn field and headed out toward the outside of town. "It's a good thing we have this corn field," Ryan whispered so softly that Mac barely heard him. "We would never get out of town without it."

Mac had to agree with that. He just hoped the rows did not get too close together so they would not have to make too much noise getting through. They tried not to disturb the corn as best they could. The stalks were very tall so they were not touching the leaves. Mac did not think he had ever seen corn as tall as this. He could see ears on the stalks with golden silks on them. This corn was young. He remembered going through a corn field with his grandfather when he was a kid and him telling him how to tell when the corn was ripe. Those silks had to be brown and the kernels had to be developed up to the top.

Mac noticed there were not many weeds growing in this field. He thought they must use a good herbicide to keep the weeds down this well. He remembered pulling ears off the corn stalks and eating them raw. He did not think anything tasted so good as a raw ear of corn fresh off the stalk. And the juice would explode out of those kernels and spray everywhere.

Mac looked at Ryan who was silent and his footsteps were in sync with his own. He remembered Bruce talking about how much Ryan talked but he was certainly quiet when he had to be. They walked for a long time and then came to the pumpkin field. This would not shield them as well as the corn field had, but the corn field had been enough to get them outside town. "Well, it's out in the open from here on," Ryan said in his quiet whisper.

Mac looked at him wishing he would make at least a little noise. Ryan was like a ghost. They looked around them before they left the corn field and then headed across the pumpkin field which was not an easy walk since there were pumpkins in the field and they were big ones. Mac could not believe the size of some of them. They had to go around those and just stepped over others. He wished they could have the corn field back but they kept going. Soon, they came over the hill and could see the lights of the compound. "I hope Jim is keeping track of time," Ryan said.

"I'm sure he is," Mac replied as quietly as he could. He thought Ryan must have hearing like a cat.

As they neared the compound, they slowed their pace and began to crouch as they moved closer. Mac took out his night vision binoculars and scanned the wall but he did not see any cameras. He supposed someone who thought they had a town under control would not bother to watch too closely. He knew this sheriff had an ego big enough for them all and he thought he was going to keep on doing what he was doing.

"No cameras," Mac whispered.

It was very quiet out there at the compound until they heard someone scream. "Get on in there!" a male voice yelled harshly.

Mac and Ryan looked at each other. They both felt angry but they had to make right judgements or they could not help anyone. Soon, they heard loud music piercing the silence and heard Jim's truck coming down the dirt road to the compound. "Hey!" Jim yelled. "Don't you guys ever party?"

Mac was surprised. Jim sounded like he was drunk. He looked at Ryan, both of them wondering if he really was. "Get out of here, Jim!" one of the guards yelled.

"Hey, I've got a case of whiskey out here I want to sell!" Jim said. "You guys don't even know how to drink!"

"Shut up!" another guard yelled. "Did you make that whiskey yourself?"

Jim laughed loudly. "You would love it if I told you that, wouldn't you!"

Mac and Ryan went over to the wall as they realized all the guards were definitely distracted. They could hear Jim still ranting as they looked up at the 8 foot wall. They had a plan however. Ryan was over six feet tall, so he could jump high enough get his hands up to the top of that wall. He would get a boost from Mac too and then he would drop a rope down so they could get out in a hurry if they had to.

Ryan got to the top of the wall and looked over as he held himself up. There were no guards on the inside of the wall and the ones on the watch towers were still paying Jim all their attention and some of them were at the gate buying the whiskey from him. Ryan tied the rope securely to a metal rung at the other side of the wall and then Mac climbed up…and they were inside.

Mac and Ryan crouched in the darkness and stayed still for a moment so they would not attract any attention. Then they moved on over to one of the buildings. Mac was shocked at what he was seeing. There were several buildings in the compound as well as gardens and trees full of fruit as well as big Oak trees and the expansion of the place was immense. "How many girls does he have in here?" Mac whispered quietly.

"From the looks of this, it must be a lot," Ryan replied in his silent whisper.

Mac took some pictures with his cell phone and sent them to Russ. He decided he would send them as he went so that if anything happened, at least Russ would have some of them. They moved over to one of the buildings which looked like it was made of tin and was even rusted in places. He could see air conditioner units in some of the windows and the other windows had bars on them. "This doesn't look like a prison to me," Ryan said.

"It is one but not like a real one," Mac replied. "It's meant for a different kind of prison." He pointed to the front of the compound where there was a parking lot of sorts although it was dirt. "See that?"

"I see it," Ryan replied. "Customers, I guess."

Mac blew out a breath slowly and silently trying to calm himself a little. He could not stand the thought of anyone being tortured. He moved over to the back of the building they were beside and they looked in. There were five girls in this building and they were all dressed in white clothes that looked like they were just sewn together on the sides and cut holes for the arms and head. One of the girls was crying and another was trying to comfort her. He thought none of those girls looked like they were even 18. He held up his phone between the bars on the window and took pictures and sent them to Russ. He looked in the window and wished he could let those girls know that he was here to help them but he could not risk anyone making any noise. However, he pecked on the window gently.

All the girls heads turned toward the window in unison and they stared wide-eyed. Mac breathed on the window and wrote "I am here" backward so they could see it. Then he and Ryan went on to the next building. It was much the same picture there except there was a man in this building and he was pointing to one of the girls who was shaking her head.

Mac squatted outside the window and Ryan squatted beside him. "What are we going to do?" Ryan asked. "I'd like to fix him so he wouldn't ever need a woman again."

Mac looked at him and Ryan knew he thought the same thing. "Are we going to help her?" Ryan asked.

"Yes," Mac replied. "We have to do this quietly though. And I would like to find out where Teresa is."

Ryan swallowed and looked at Mac. "So would I," he said.

Mac realized Ryan must have been in love with Teresa. "We'll find her."

They sneaked down to the end of the building and peeped around the corner. They could see them practically dragging the girl from the building. Mac had to restrain himself to keep from going around that corner and letting them get a taste of someone bigger than them. He took pictures of the scene and sent them to Russ. Then he and Ryan moved around the building to see where they were taking that girl. They came around to another building which did not look like the rest of the buildings and they even discovered a central air unit to this building and it was made of brick.

Ryan looked at Mac. They knew what this was. It was where the 'guests' took their victims. "How do we get in there?" Ryan asked. Mac was trying to figure that out but there were no guard around the place that he could see. They probably figured there was no danger of anyone going in there.

Mac and Ryan went around to the back of the building, which looked more like a house. Mac tried the knob on the back door and it turned. He turned it slowly and opened the door a small crack. They were looking into what looked like a kitchen. "You mean they actually eat in there while all this is going on?" Ryan whispered.

Mac thought he would be sick before this was over. He thought it looked like some sort of resort. He took pictures again and sent them to Russ. Then, he and Ryan slipped in the door and went through the doorway that led upstairs. Mac drew his weapon and so did Ryan. They eased their way up the stairway which was a little winding. They could hear someone screaming up there. "Let's hurry," Ryan said.

Mac wanted to run but he knew they could get caught if they made sudden moves and went too fast. They soon came to the top of the stairs and stopped a moment to look down the hallway, but there were two hallways, on that went straight ahead of them and one that went to the left. The lights were off in the area where they were now so, they could see down the hallways. Mac could see the man who had chosen the young girl from the other building. He was practically dragging her down the hallway toward a room. When they got into the room, Mac and Ryan headed down the hall and moved up on either side of the door of the room. They could hear the girl crying and screaming. Mac turned the knob as he looked down the hall again and it was not locked.

Mac and Ryan entered the room and closed the door. The man was halfway undressed. He stared at Mac and Ryan with surprised. "Who are you?" he asked.

Mac aimed his weapon at the man. "You better shut your filthy mouth," he said.

The man started to lunge at them, but Ryan moved so fast, Mac was shocked. Ryan slammed the heel of his hand into the man's nose and the man fell to the floor unconscious. Ryan looked at Mac and then moved over to the bed. Of course the little girl was terrified. "I'm here to help you," Ryan said. "You don't have to be scared anymore."

Mac took pictures of everything and then turned the man on his side so he would not drown in his own blood. Then he got over to the bed. He took out his wallet which still had his badge in it. "We're here to help you," he said.

The girl stared at the badge and then looked at them. She then jumped up and threw her arms around Ryan's neck. "You're okay now, Sweetie," he said.

Mac moved back over to the door. He was not sure how they would get her out of there but they had to try. He opened the door slightly and looked up and down the hall. He did not see anyone. "Let's move," he whispered.

They moved out into the hall and made sure they closed the door back. Then they hurried back to the doorway they can come through. "What about the others?" Ryan asked as they got out of that hallway.

"I didn't hear anyone else," Mac replied. "Let's get her out of here before we're discovered."

They went down the stairway and out the back door and got back behind the buildings they had come by before. They made it back to the wall and they could hear the guards laughing. Mac knew they were getting boozed up which could not be good for these girls in here but it would make them easier to take down. "Get her back to town," Mac whispered.

"You can't stay here alone," Ryan said.

"I have to do something about all this. You get her out of here and you call Russ Josephson. Maria has his number. You tell him what is going on here. He will listen to you. He should already have the pictures I sent him."

Ryan stared at Mac. "I'm not used to leaving people behind," he said.

"You have to this time…for her."

Ryan could feel the girl trembling in his arms and clinging to him. "I'm coming back," he said. He told the girl to hold on tight while he climbed over the wall. He climbed down on the other side and headed through the pumpkin patch with the girl. He would go back alright. He would not leave Mac in there like that.

Mac squatted beside the wall and listened to the ruckus that was going on. He wondered if they had let Jim in and he was in there with them now. He knew they were partying and he could hear their drunken slurs. He wondered if he could clean out these buildings without them even knowing it. He did not see a way out through the back of this wall though. He thought there must be some other way out. He wondered if there was an underground way out. He thought those girls in there might know. He had to get to them.


	16. Chapter 16

Mac made his way around the first building where they had looked in and saw the girls. He looked in the window again and noticed that the girls were in bed. He moved on down to the other end of the building where the door was. He did not see anyone but he could hear the ruckus out front getting even rowdier and louder. He sneaked over to the door and turned the knob. The door was not locked. He thought that just showed how cocky that sheriff was. He thought he had it made in this town and there was no one to stop him…until now.

Mac opened the door and slipped in. He heard the girls gasp behind him as he closed the door. "Stay away!" one of the girls said.

"Shhhh," Mac said. "I'm here to help you." He could see that they were terrified and did not believe him. He took his wallet out to show them his badge. "I'm here to help you," he said again.

The girls stared at it and the one who looked the oldest came over to him and looked at the badge. She looked at Mac a moment. Then she looked at the others and nodded. They all ran to Mac. "They took Tina," the girl said.

"We got her out already," Mac said as he tried to comfort the girls. "Do you know any other way out of here besides out the front gate?"

The oldest girl looked at him with tears streaming down her face. "There is another way out," she said.

"Show me."

The youngest girl clung to Mac so he carried her as they left the building. "What about the others?" the other girl asked.

"Let's get you four out to the way out and then I will go back for more," Mac whispered.

The girl led him around to the back of the compound where there was a pair of trap doors that looked like they would lead down into a storm shelter. It was definitely a storm shelter. Mac took the girls down into it and set the one he was carrying down on the cot in the shelter. He rubbed her hair. "You're going to be fine now," he said. "Okay?"

Mac looked around the place and looked at the doors. There was a lock on the inside. He looked at the oldest girl. "When I leave out of here, you lock this," he said. "Don't open it for anybody but me. When I bring more girls here, I will knock three times and I will say your name, which is what?"

"Nancy."

"Don't open this door unless I knock three times and say your name, no matter what you hear. Okay?"

The girl nodded. "What if someone gets in?" she asked.

"This is designed to keep a tornado out. No one will get in if you lock this. Remember, three times. If I don't knock and you hear my voice, don't open it."

Mac knew those girls were scared but they would stay in there and they would be safe. He climbed out of the shelter and waited to hear her lock the door. Then he went back into the compound. He went to the next building which had four more girls inside. He got them out much the same way as the first and carried them to the shelter. Then he went back for more.

As Ryan was carrying the other girl, Tina, back to town, he saw the sheriff's car going toward the compound. He was worried about leaving Mac there alone. He tried to hurry but he could not hurry very fast carrying the girl and going through the pumpkin patch. He was almost to the corn field and then they would be sheltered better. He thought the girl was asleep. He figured she was exhausted and probably never got any rest in that place for worrying about being raped. Ryan was angry about that and he wanted to find Teresa. He was sure she must be in there.

Mac was working on his third building when he heard someone yell, "What is going on in here!"

Mac stopped in his track as he was leaning up against the building. He listened and could hear the sheriff cursing at the guards. "What is Jim doing in here!" he demanded.

Mac knew his plan was falling apart. That sheriff knew that Jim had been in on his plan. Mac hurried into the building to get those girls out. He did not have time to explain anything to them much. He wanted to get them to safety although there were two more buildings out there and he had not found Teresa yet. He got those girls down into the shelter and then went back into the compound. He heard the sheriff giving those guards a real going over and he could hear him yelling for Jim to get out of his compound and if he ever saw him there again, he would kill him.

Gillespie looked around at the guards. "How long has he been here?" he asked.

"I don't know, Boss," one of the guards answered.

Realization came to Gillespie and he headed on into the compound. "He's here!" he said as he saw the rope at the top of the wall. He whirled on the guards. "You get out there and you find him if he's outside there!" he yelled.

Two of the guards headed for the gate. The others followed Gillespie into the compound. Mac could hear them coming toward the building where he had already taken the girls out. He listened hard as he heard them discover that the girls were gone. Mac knew those girls in the shelter would be safe but he had to find a way to get them out of here and to get himself out.

Gillespie stopped in the middle of the gravel walkway and looked around him. Mac stared at him from his hiding place. "He's still here," Gillespie said. "Find him!"

Just then, Bob walked up. "I want him if he's here," he said.

Mac frowned. He had to find a way to get out of here. Gillespie folded his arms. "I know how to make him come out," he said. "Go get her!"

Bob only looked at him a moment. He knew who he meant. Mac felt sweat on his forehead and the back of his neck. He knew they still had Teresa and that must be who they were going to get. What would they do to her? He thought these men were capable of anything. He knew he was in trouble.

Finally, Bob brought Teresa Lordsbury out into the gravel walk. She was wearing dirty, torn clothes. Mac thought his blood would boil. "Oh, Detective Taylor!" Gillespie said. "I know you're out here! You either come out or we'll just have our way with her right here!"

Mac could not believe what he was hearing. Would they actually do that? But he did not have to wait long for that answer because Bob threw her down on the ground. "Stop!" Mac yelled and came from his hiding place. "Just leave her alone!"

Gillespie glared at Mac and so did Bob. "Let me have him," Bob said as he walked toward Mac.

"Stop!" Gillespie said. "You idiot! He didn't come in here to play! He must have weapons!" He pulled out his own weapon and put it to Teresa's head. "You try anything and I will shoot her."

Mac stood there while Bob searched him for weapons and found his gun and his knife. Then he shoved him toward the sheriff. Mac glared at him. "So, you got up the nerve to come in here," the sheriff said.

Mac looked at Teresa. He knew she did not know him and she was terrified. "Let her go," Mac said. "You don't have to keep her here like this."

"Are you kidding?" Gillespie asked. "She knows too much. Do you actually think I would let her go?"

"Just what do you plan to do with me and her?"

"She's going back to her room, and you're going to have a long night."

Mac frowned wondering what he meant by that. Just then, one of the guards came out there. "Sheriff, one of the guests is unconscious in his room," he said. "Someone busted his nose."

Gillespie looked at Mac. "Cuff him," he said.

Ryan hurried through the corn patch and got back into town with Tina. He hurried to Mrs. Campbell's house and knocked. Bruce opened the door. He was surprised to see Ryan. "Let me in," Ryan said.

Ryan went into the house with the girl. Maria looked out the door expecting Mac to be behind him. "Where is Mac?" she asked when she realized he was not there.

"He stayed back there," Ryan said as they were going up the stairs with the girl.

"What! You left him there alone!"

"I didn't have a choice," Ryan said. "He wanted me to get this girl out of there and call Russ Josephson."

Maria stared at him. "You mean you just left him there?" she asked.

Ryan looked at her. "We don't have time for this!" he said. "We have to get some help! It's just like he thought it was and worse! Now, get the stupid number!"

Maria stared at him a moment and then she got the numbers that Mac had given her and gave them to Ryan. He called Russ and told him what was happening. "He's still in there!" Ryan said. "I have to get back there and get him out."

Just then, Jim came in the door. He leaned on the counter and stared at them and noticed that Ryan was there. "Where's Mac?" Jim asked.

"He's still there," Ryan answered.

Jim looked alarmed. "That sheriff is there! Not to mention Bob!"

"I have to go back after him!" Ryan made sure his weapon was loaded. "I'll shoot them if I have to."

"I'm going with you," Jim informed him. "You can't go over there alone. They may have found him by now." He picked up his rifle and made sure it was loaded. "I'm not drunk, but they are."

"Fine. Let's get out there."

Mac was shoved into a basement along with Teresa Lordsbury. The sheriff came down there and uncuffed Mac's hands. "You're going to be here a long time," Gillespie said.

"You're through," Mac said. "If you think I came down here alone, you're crazy."

"You may not have come alone, but they won't be able to find you."

Gillespie suddenly hit Mac in the stomach. Mac could not help but gasp and bend almost double, but when he did, Gillespie shoved Mac's face into his knee. Mac fell back in the floor. He was trying to get his bearings back. He realized Gillespie was about to kick him. He rolled over and got to his feet and glared at Gillespie although there was blood streaming from his nose and lips. Mac was angry now. "Come and get me!" he dared.

"You think you're so tough!" Gillespie said. He started to move toward Mac, but then Bob came in.

"Let me have him," Bob said.

Mac's frown deepened as he saw Bob's eagerness. "You can't even face me yourself," he sneered. "You gotta have help!"

"I know you weren't in here alone!" Gillespie said. "Who else was with you besides that Jim? I know he was in on this and I will deal with him later!"

"You won't do anything," Mac said. "You're little playhouse is about to be torn down."

"I've had this for years. What makes you think you can stop me?"

"Because I told the right people."

"Who was here with you?" Gillespie demanded.

"You really think I'm going to tell you?" Mac asked.

"Let me make him talk," Bob said eagerly.

"If you think you're big enough."

Bob frowned and stepped toward Mac. Mac did not look one bit intimidated and Bob did not like that at all. He thought people should be afraid of him. "You can't handle him," Gillespie said. "But together we can."

Mac waited for them to come toward him. Gillespie grabbed Mac first and Mac grabbed his arm, but then Bob jerked Mac's leg out from under him. Mac could not help but fall as Gillespie shoved him at the same time. Then they had him on the floor. Mac could not shove them both off. Gillespie grabbed Mac by the jaw and shoved his head into the floor.

Mac felt almost addled by that action. Gillespie leaned over him. "Who else was here with you?" he demanded.

Mac tried to fight and get away from them, but he could not get out from under both of them. They finally jerked him up off the floor and shoved him into the wall. "Tell me!" Gillespie demanded.

Mac glared at him. Bob kneed him in the straddle and Mac almost went to the floor. "Let's let him sit here a while and see if he changes his mind," Gillespie said. He shoved Mac down and they left him and locked the basement door.

Mac lay there in agony thinking he would not get his breath back. Then he heard someone ask, "Are you alright?"

Mac did not think he was alright but he looked to see Teresa sitting up on the cot looking at him. She looked afraid. He could not say anything at the moment. He hoped Ryan got that message to Russ Josephson so they would get some help. He had failed and now those girls were in even more danger.

Ryan and Jim were on their way across the pumpkin patch. "They probably know how you guys got in by now," Jim said.

"Then we'll go in a different way this time," Ryan replied.

They finally reached the wall of the compound and moved around to the back wall. There were not many lights on that side of the compound. Jim helped Ryan up to the top of the wall. Ryan looked over the wall and could see the doors of the storm shelter. He climbed up onto the wall and looked down at Jim. "You stay out there in case something happens," Ryan whispered.

"You better be careful," Jim said.

"I will."

Ryan got down inside the wall and almost landed on the doors of the storm shelter. He had no idea that the girls that Mac had rescued were down in there and he did not know if Mac had been captured although Jim had been run out of here. He moved over to the first building and could see that there were no girls in there now. He thought Mac must have gotten them out but…where were they now? Ryan walked on over to the next building and just then, he saw Gillespie and his son come from the brick house.

"He's not going to tell you anything," Bob said.

"We'll have to dispose of him and that girl and get the rest of these girls somewhere else," Gillespie said. "We can't keep them here. There's no telling who he's told about this."

"You think he got word out?"

"I'm sure there was someone else here with him and they must have gotten out. Some of the girls are gone."

"How long are we going to keep them in that basement? Are we going to kill them? If we are, I want to kill Mac Taylor."

"In time."

Ryan watched them walk away from the house. So Mac and…what girl…were in the basement. He had to get in there and get Mac out. He eased his way down to the other end of the next building and looked around the edge. He could see the back of the house from here. He would have to get in that way and he was sure it would not be as easy this time…


	17. Chapter 17

Mac finally got his breath back and sat up against the wall. He looked at Teresa who was looking at him from the cot. "I'm Mac Taylor," he said and grimaced as he was still having some pain. "Your mother sent me here to find out what happened to you." He shook his head. "Looks like I didn't help you much."

"My mother knows I'm alive?" Teresa asked.

Mac nodded. "She knows. We did tests and figured out that the woman who was murdered was not you."

Teresa started to cry. "They just killed her like she was nothing. Like she was a sacrifice for their purpose."

"Your mother did not believe you would commit suicide and she hired me to come over here and find out what happened."

"My mother might have been a long way away but she knew me." Teresa looked at Mac. "They've kept me in this basement all this time and only give me small portions of food and water. I thought Bob Gillespie would…well, I am sure you know what goes on here."

Mac nodded. "I do." He got himself to his feet and walked over to the entrance of the basement which was up a staircase. He held his stomach as it was still hurting and he hurt all over, he thought. He knew that door was locked now but he tried the knob anyway. He went back down the stairs and leaned on the wall a moment. "I'm sure Ryan and Jim know what is going on by now and they'll come back."

"Ryan?"

Mac looked at Teresa. "Yes. He's quite resilient." Mac bent over and rested his hands on his knees.

"Are you okay?" Teresa asked. She had seen what they did to him.

Mac stood back up. "Yes. I'll be fine." He looked around them and did not know how they could get out of this basement with the door locked and no windows. Then again, even if they did get out the door, they would have to fight their way out. He looked at Teresa. Her face looked drawn and she looked malnourished. He knew she did not have the strength to do much.

Ryan had snuck in the back door of the house but he had no idea where the door to the basement was. He turned the light off in the kitchen so that it would be dark. He stood beside the wall for a moment as he looked around. He saw a door on the other side of the kitchen that he thought could be the door to the basement. Basement doors were usually in the kitchen, at least the ones he had seen. He moved across the kitchen and tried the door but it was locked. He could not see a lock on it that was holding it and he thought it must have one of those old locks because there was a keyhole in the door. He had never picked one of those locks before but he supposed he could try. He looked around him to make sure no one was coming that way or looking that way and then he took his knife out but the blade was too big to go into the keyhole.

Ryan heard someone talking. He stood up and leaned against the wall in the dark shadow of the small area in front of the door. He saw the sheriff and Bob come into the kitchen. "You make sure no one gets in there to rescue them," the sheriff said. "I have to go back into town to take care of some damage control."

Ryan stared at him. He knew what that meant. He intended to go back and find the others. He figured the sheriff knew that they were all at Mrs. Campbell's house. "What about Teresa?" Bob asked. "Can I have her now? They all know she's alive now."

"You stay away from her," Gillespie said and pointed his finger in his face. "We might have to kill her and pretend we found her body somewhere."

"I can't have her first?"

"No. You stay away from them because Mac Taylor is not going to stand by while you force yourself on that woman and you can't handle him alone."

Bob frowned. "I can," he argued. "He's nothing."

"Yes, he is and you stay away from him. You got that?"

"Yes."

Gillespie left the house and Ryan could tell that Bob was angry at what his father had told him. After all, he was still trying to prove that he was a man. Ryan rolled his eyes as he thought of how ridiculous that was. There were lots of ways to prove oneself besides being a thug and a bully and a rapist.

Ryan waited to see what Bob would do. He knew now that Teresa was down in that basement with Mac. He wanted to get her out of there and he was relieved that she had not been abused although he was sure she had been terrorized. He stood still until Bob turned that way and looked into the hall toward the door. Ryan knew he would have to see him even if the hall was dark. Bob stared into the darkness and then his eyes widened. Ryan went after him as he started to go out the door. Ryan grabbed him and jerked him away from the door and slammed him up against the wall. "Where is the key to that door?" Ryan demanded.

"I'll never tell you," Bob replied but the look in Ryan's blue eyes made him swallow hard.

"You don't want me to make you talk," Ryan said in that quiet voice. "Now, where is that key?"

Bob tried to get away from Ryan but he jerked his arm around behind him and shoved him down to the floor and put his knee in his back. "You listen to me," Ryan said. "You're going to give me that key or I won't care what I do to you to make you tell me where it is." He felt of Bob's pockets and found the key in the front pocket.

Bob tried to fight him but Ryan punched him and then got him up and shoved him into the hall where the basement door was. He put a gun in Bob's back then. "Unlock that door," he said.

Bob fumbled with the key trying to keep his hand from shaking which made him even angrier. He got the door unlocked and Ryan shoved him through and then closed the door.

Mac was shocked to see Ryan come through the door with Bob…but then again, he did not know why he should be. Ryan was quite a soldier. "You alright?" Ryan asked.

Mac glared at Bob. "No thanks to him," he said. "I'll live."

Ryan got Bob down the stairs. "You won't get away!" Bob declared. "They will kill you!"

"I don't think so," Ryan whispered and then clobbered him on the head with his weapon.

Ryan looked at Mac. "I was tired of his mouth," he said. He looked at Teresa and went over to her. "Are you okay?"

Teresa hugged him. "I am now," she said with relief.

Mac went up the stairs to the door and opened it. "Let's go," he whispered.

Ryan picked Teresa up and carried her up the stairs and they followed Mac out the door. "Where are those other girls?" Ryan asked.

"They're in the storm shelter," Mac said. "I thought they would be safe in there."

"Probably are. What are we going to do? She can't walk all the way back to town."

Mac turned the lights off as they locked the basement door to keep Bob in. "We have to find a way out of this place," he said. "Where's Jim?"

"He's waiting outside the wall."

"Let's get over there and maybe he can get Teresa out of here."

They carefully got out of the house and were surprised that no one else was around there. Mac thought the others must be still looking for the girls that he had freed. "Let's put Teresa in the shelter with the others," Mac suggested. "Then we can clean out this rat's nest."

"I'm with you," Ryan replied.

They went back to the storm shelter and Mac knocked and got Nancy to open the door. Ryan carried Teresa down into it. Nancy looked at Mac. "When are we getting out of here?" she asked.

"As soon as possible," Mac replied. "Don't worry, it won't be long. We have to get the others."

Mac and Ryan went out of the storm shelter and waited until Nancy had locked the door back. They moved away from the shelter over to the wall. Ryan jumped up to look over the wall. Jim was still there. "You ready for a war?" Ryan asked.

"I sure am," Jim replied.

Mac took the rope that he still had in his backpack and they threw it over the wall to Jim so he could climb over. "It's about time," he said.

Mac took his weapon from the backpack. "I'm glad they didn't get this," he said as he strapped on the holster and put his knife on his belt.

"Me too," Jim said.

"We have to get the rest of those girls out of there and get this crowd taken down."

"Where are they?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know. It's awful quiet. Maybe they are waiting for us to make a move."

"Or maybe they already moved those other girls."

"No, they haven't taken anything out of here," Jim said. "No vehicles have left."

"They may be loading them up though," Mac said. "We have to stop them."

They headed around the back of the buildings to the first one that Mac had not been to yet. They looked in the window and found that there were no girls in there. "They moved them," he whispered.

They hurried on to the next building, but those were gone to and the next, but when they got to the last building, they found that was where two of the guards were. They were rounding up the girls who were inside this building. "Let's get them," Mac whispered.

Mac, Ryan and Jim moved down to the corner of the building and Mac looked around. There was one guard at the door waiting while the others got the girls out. Mac sneaked around the corner of the building and grabbed the guard from behind. Ryan was right behind him and put his gun right in the guard's face. "Don't you make a sound," Ryan said.

The guard looked terrified as they guided him back around the corner of the building. Mac took his weapons and they cuffed his hands and gagged him. Jim stayed with him while Mac and Ryan went back to the edge of the building. "Hey, where is Tom?" one of the other guards asked.

Mac and Ryan were right behind the door as the others were coming out. "He had to take a break," Ryan whispered.

The guard whirled around and Mac punched him, breaking his nose. Ryan aimed his weapon at the other guard. "You make a sound or any sudden moves, and I will shoot you," he warned.

Mac grabbed that guard and disarmed him and then they led them around the building along with the girls. "He broke my nose," the guard whined whom Mac had punched.

"Shut up!" Ryan said. He grabbed him by the collars. "Where are those other girls?"

"They're being loaded into a bus," the other guard said. "They're going to take them to Mexico."

"What are we going to do?" Jim asked. "We can't take on all this alone."

"Oh yes we can," Mac disagreed. "Let's get these girls to…the safe place…and these three somewhere that they will be out of commission."

Jim and Ryan took the three guards and Mac took the girls to the shelter. As he was leaving the shelter, he heard someone yell, "Hey! What's taking you three so long!"

Mac hurried down to the other building where they had rescued the girls. He could see two more guards coming. He knew this must be almost all of them, because there were not many guards. He waited for them to come over to the door of the building. One of them opened the door and looked inside. "Hey, they're not in here," he said. "Where did they go?"

Mac could see that the two were wary now that they had some people missing, and not just one person, but three. Just then, he heard the sheriff yell, "Where is Bob!"

Mac knew their plan was coming unraveled. They would have to take these people out or they would get out of here with those girls. He thought there must be at least twelve left if not more.

"I haven't seen him," one of the guards answered.

"If that idiot went down there and took on that Mac Taylor, I might kill him myself!" Gillespie said.

Mac shook his head. The man was threatening to kill his own son? How did he get in the position of sheriff? He wanted to know that story. As the two guards left to go with the sheriff, Mac moved around the building he was at and watched them go toward the house where they had left Bob in the basement. He knew it was about to come to an end.

Mac saw Ryan and Jim come from behind the next building. Mac nodded to them and they all headed for the house. They stood outside the door of the house a moment. "This door is still locked!" the sheriff declared. "Where is Bob?"

Ryan and Jim waited for Mac to make a move. He was not sure whether they should go in yet or not. He knew that sheriff and the other two were on alert now. Then he heard Bob yelling faintly. Mac nodded to Ryan and Jim and they all went in quickly. The two guards were surprised when they saw them come in the door. When Gillespie realized what was going on, he ran for the front of the house. Mac went after him. He wanted to get this guy himself.

Gillespie went out the front door and ran to the left. Mac realized he was heading for his car. He turned on the speed and got to him before he got into the car. "Stop!" Mac yelled and aimed his gun at him.

Gillespie stopped and glared at Mac. "You just think you've won, Taylor," he growled.

"It looks that way from here."

Gillespie suddenly darted to the side and then tackled Mac. They struggled over the gun and Mac finally caused Gillespie to drop it after he almost got it from his hand. He shoved Gillespie off and got up, but Gillespie was up before Mac could get to him. He dove for the weapon but Mac grabbed him. Gillespie elbowed Mac in the face and almost knocked him backward and aggravated Mac's already sore nose and lips. He grabbed Gillespie around the neck and threw him to the ground but Gillespie was not done yet. He grabbed Mac's legs and tripped him before he could go for the gun again. Mac decided he would just have to fight it out with the guy.

They stood up and faced each other. "You're in for a fight, Taylor," Gillespie said.

"I guess I've been itching for one!" Mac replied.

Mac charged at Gillespie before he could move. He would not be the defense this time. Gillespie was not used to having to fight someone and he was surprised at Mac's strength. Mac hit him in the stomach and then punched him. Mac wanted to have an old fashioned fight. He was ready to release some of his frustration. Gillespie finally got his bearings and gave Mac a fight, but Mac landed the final punch which left Gillespie lying on the ground. Mac rubbed blood from his mouth and nose as he glared down at Gillespie who was completely exhausted.

"Get up," Mac said. He got his weapon and then Ryan came out there.

Ryan looked at Gillespie and then at Mac. "I guess you have this under control," he said.

"Yeah."

Ryan jerked Gillespie up off the ground and they went back into the house where Jim was guarding all the others they had taken hostage. They were all cuffed together and gagged now. "They had plenty of handcuffs around here," Jim said with a frown.

Mac shoved Gillespie over to him. "There's you another one," he said.

Jim cuffed Gillespie to the others. He glared at Jim. "You won't get away with this," Gillespie declared. "I'm the sheriff!"

"Not anymore!" Mac informed him.


	18. Chapter 18

The authorities finally arrived in Pumpkin Flat. Mac explained the whole situation to them and the girls were taken to a hospital in Colorado Springs. Mac was taken to the town doctor. The doctor determined that his nose was not broken. "It's badly bruised and swollen," he said. "Both lips are split on the inside."

Mac thought he could have told him that. The doctor looked at him. "There was no hemorrhaging in the groin area but I don't think you'll be…"

"That is the least of my worries right now," Mac said. He would have to go to court to explain what all happened.

"Well, I think you'll be as good as new in a few days."

"Thanks, doctor."

"I can give you something for pain if you want."

"I think I'll take something now, but I don't want a prescription."

After the doctor left, Maria came in. She sat on the side of the bed and hugged Mac. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes," Mac replied. "Just some pain to get through but that's about it."

"I was so worried especially when Ryan came back and you weren't with him."

"I made him come back and bring that girl. He had to get her out of there."

"You're such a hero."

"I don't know about that but I'm glad that is over."

Mac got out of the doctor's office and Maria had her car there. They got in and headed back into town. "We have to make a stop," Maria said.

"Where?" Mac asked and yawned. Not only was he exhausted but the pain medicine was making him feel relaxed.

Maria took Mac to the town hall. "Why are we here?" Mac asked.

"Just come on," Maria said.

Mac got out of the car feeling like he was almost walking in his sleep. They went inside and found that most of the people in the town were there. When Mac walked in, they all applauded. "What's going on?" Mac asked.

"We want you to be our new sheriff," the Mayor, Walter Moore, said.

Mac had not met the mayor before. "I'm retired and I don't want to take on that job," he said.

"But you would be a good candidate for this, and you're going to need a job until you get your ranch built."

Mac looked down at the floor a moment. "I don't really need a job," he said. "And you folks already have a sheriff here, you just don't know it." Mac pointed to Ryan. "If you want a young sheriff who has the energy to help you and keep things in order, Ryan there is the right choice."

Ryan was shocked. "Me?" he asked. "I don't want to be the sheriff. I like my job out at the lumber mill and I make good money out there…no offense. I just don't want a job like that."

"Well, then, Jim would be a good choice too," Mac said.

Jim just stared at Mac a moment. He had not thought of being sheriff but he thought he would like to have the job now that he was thinking about it. "I would be honored," he said.

Mac watched as Jim was appointed the temporary sheriff. He would be in that position until they could have an election in the county, but Jim could also run for sheriff. Mac thought he would fall asleep on his feet. He definitely did not want the responsibility of being the sheriff. He liked this town but he wanted to enjoy his retirement. That job would be stressful and he did not want any stress like that right now. Besides that, he wanted to pursue his relationship with Maria without a job getting in the way.

Maria took Mac to his apartment after the meeting and refreshments were over. They went inside and Mac yawned. "I am very sleepy," he said.

Maria hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay and I appreciate what you did for this town and everyone else does too," she said.

Mac hugged her to him. "I'm glad it's over too. Now, I can get my mind on other things."

Maria looked at him and smiled. "I wish I could kiss you." She kissed his cheek.

"Don't worry, they'll be okay soon and then I'll kiss you again."

"Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Mac did not want to go into all that. "I'll be alright. I don't have any broken bones."

"That's good."

"I have to say good night."

Maria smiled. "Good night. I'll see you in the morning."

Mac nodded. Maria left and he went to his room. He thought he would not make it to the bed, but he managed to get his shoes and clothes off and crawl into the bed.

When Mac woke up in the morning, he realized the sun was already up. He thought he could not move. He was sore all over from all that exertion the night before. He was not used to that sort of activity anymore. He closed his eyes and just went back to sleep.

The next time Mac woke up, he heard someone knocking on the door. He did not want to get up and almost drifted back to sleep until they knocked again and Maria said, "Mac, are you up?"

"No," Mac said sleepily and not loud enough that anyone could hear him.

Maria waited a moment and thought he must still be sleeping, so she started to go on to work, but then she heard the door. Mac opened the door looking like he was almost walking in his sleep and he had a blanket around him. "Morning," she said with a smile. "I brought you some breakfast."

"Thanks," Mac said. "I'm sorry. I'm so tired."

"You should get all the rest you can." Maria gave him the basket with the breakfast in it. "I hope you enjoy it."

"I'm sure I will."

Maria smiled at him and touched his cheek. "I'll see you later."

Mac nodded and closed the door. He went back to his bed and looked in the basket after he got back into bed. The food certainly smelled good. He ate that and then went back to sleep. He thought he would take this whole day to sleep.

Mac woke up again around 1pm and he felt totally rested but he was still sore especially his right shoulder. He thought that must be from climbing over that wall and maybe from carrying one of those girls. He sat up on the side of the bed and yawned and rubbed his shoulder. He thought he was getting lazy. He stood up and stretched and then went into the kitchen to get something to eat and then the doorbell rang. He looked down at himself. He was not wearing a shirt but he had on shorts. He went to the door and opened it a crack to see who was there.

"Hi," Maria said.

"Hi," Mac replied.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. I'm still a little sore but I'll live."

Maria looked down the hall. "Can I come in?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not completely dressed," Mac said.

"Oh, okay, well, you can come over to the shop later if you want. Maybe we can go out for supper?"

"Sure. That would be nice."

Maria smiled. "Okay."

Mac closed the door and leaned on it. He was still very tired but he had to get himself moving. He rubbed his shoulder as he walked back to the kitchen. He thought if he cooked himself something good for lunch, he might feel better. He cooked himself a hamburger and ate that and drank some soda. He felt better after that. He got a shower and got dressed and went over to the beauty salon. As he opened the door, he almost rolled his eyes at that smell. He knew she must be giving another perm. He had never had to worry about curls. He had plenty of them of his own.

Maria smiled as Mac walked in. "Hi," she said. "Did you get enough rest?"

"I think so," Mac replied. "I guess my eyes just popped open and didn't want to close again."

"I guess that's a sign that you've had enough." Maria was putting waving lotion on the woman's hair.

Mac rubbed his nose and sat down in a chair and started to look at a magazine. "So, you're a detective," the woman in the chair said.

Mac looked at her. "I used to be," he said.

"You did a great thing for this town."

"Well, I was glad to do it."

"It changed the whole atmosphere around here."

Mac could definitely tell that. It seemed there was a calmness that had come over the town now. He hated tension like that. "It is nice to have peace of mind," he said.

"Absolutely. We don't have to think of those little girls over there anymore."

Mac certainly did not want to think about it. "So, do you own a shop here in town?" he asked.

"I'm Mattie," the woman said. "I own the diner down there. Mandy is my granddaughter."

"She's a nice girl."

"I was lucky that she did not wind up out there. She probably would have if you had not showed up. He knew he couldn't get away with it with you around."

"I'm glad I could help."

Maria smiled at that comment. "You're so modest," she said. "It's one of the things I love about you."

"Are you two getting serious?" Mattie asked.

Mac smiled as he looked down at the magazine he was looking at. He could still feel a dull ache in his shoulder. He thought he must have strained a muscle in there. He had done that before and it always gave him problems if he did things like he did last night. He looked at Mattie. "Well, I think you folks are going to be seeing a lot of me and Maria together around town," he said.

Maria's smile brightened. Mac loved that look on her face that she had when he talked about his feelings for her. She made him smile and he knew that was something that he had not done enough of in the past eleven years. His heart still ached when he thought of Claire but he wanted to have a happy life again and he thought he could have that with Maria. She was unlike any woman he had met. He thought of Jo and how she had reacted. He could not help what she thought. He had a new life now and he would not go back to that old one. Maybe he would take a case as a private investigator once in a while but other than that, he was retired.


End file.
